


Seasons of Change

by NAOA



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animagus, Character Development, Coming of Age, Detention, First War with Voldemort, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Growing Up, Hogwarts, Hogwarts classes, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Magic, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), School, School Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 101,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24205732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NAOA/pseuds/NAOA
Summary: A marauders Era fic. The story follows James, Sirius, Remus and Peter through their years at Hogwarts as James tries out for Quidditch and chases after Lily, Remus tries to hide his secret, Sirius finds his own path in the world and even as Peter tries to keep up with the others. All the while the growing power of Lord Voldemort looms in the distance. Very Canon story.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HI, this is the longest fic I ever wrote! It totals about 49 chapters and although it stops sometime during the marauders's fifth year, the story get's pretty far. I think I originally started this in early 2013 and the last update was in 2017 but I sometimes go back and try to add to it so I may yet update it and haven't lost hope. The story was originally intended to be as cannon as I could get it so there isn't a lot of shipping going on except for cannon stuff but I still enjoyed writing it and rereading it a bit. The story was a lot of fun to write and although the first chapter is pretty weak, it's short and the real story get's under way pretty quickly. Thanks for giving this story a new shot!

From an early age Sirius found that he could not agree with his mother. She was loud and nothing she said ever really made sense. When his father told him that he was better than others because he was a Black, he had wanted to know why and to answer he had been given a long and boring explanation on family history and blood purity and more things that he did not care about, which made him promptly stop listening. His parents said time and again that muggles were weak and mugglebourns were inferior, he had wanted to know why but their explanations had not been satisfying.

When he was very little and the family had been out, Sirius saw several muggle children playing in a park, his father said aloud that they were pathetic people and it was shameful the way they let their children run wild. Sirius had disagreed. He had thought that the children were having fun. He wished he could have joined them.

When he was a little older, Sirius had gotten out and found a group of muggle boys playing in the street. He had asked to join them and as soon as he did, he found himself making friends. He liked the game and he liked the boys and he could not see how he was any better than they were. Indeed, they knew the rules to the game they were playing and he did not.

They had been most of the way through the game when he had been caught. His mother had seen him and come running and it was the look on his face that told him he was in trouble. He hadn't thought of how his parents would react if he was caught. He had hoped that he wouldn't find out. She had grabbed him by his arm and hauled him off. Her fingers had held him in an iron grasp and her knuckles had turned white.

He had been dragged back to the house and cornered by both parents in the library. His father had been livid and his mother breathing fire. He might have cowered, any other child might have but he didn't, he never knew how to back down. He stood his ground and when his parents asked him what he had been thinking and how he could have been so thoughtless he said right back that he hadn't done anything wrong. He said that it had been fun. His mother had screamed. She was good at that.

When he got older still, he continued to drift from his parents' thinking and when he saw that his brother drank it in, he loathed it. He hated how his brother followed whatever his parents said. Most of the time he thought his brother was a brown nosing little tody but sometimes he really wished his brother was like him. He wished he had someone on his side when a family argument occurred and he was the one everyone was yelling at. By the time he was ten he couldn't wait for school.

A little before he was to start school, Sirius had sneaked out and was walking, getting out of the dreary house and into the sun made him happy. He had stopped on the street to listen. Up ahead he could see some older, muggle boys. They were siting on the curb with a radio listening to music. He admired them. They had long hair and blue jeans and he liked their music. One of them noticed him and elbowed his friend. They waved and he waved back. He wasn't shy. One of them motioned him forward and he came.

"What's up little man?" The boy asked.

Sirius tried to compose himself. He wanted to look cool and but at ten, it was rather hard to do so. He grinned. "Nothin'. I was just listening to your music."

The group laughed. "You like the Stones, do you?" One of them asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Sure." He wasn't exactly sure who the 'stones' were but he didn't want them to know that.

"Haha the kid's got style!" Another laughed. "And good taste in music."

"Sit down love; if you like the music, that is." A girl said.

He sat down next to her and listened to them talk. He would have liked to be like them. He thought he might grow his hair long. He wondered how big of a fit his mother would throw. For that matter, he wondered what his father wold do.

He felt cool sitting with them and weather they were humoring him or not he liked it. One of them was telling a story about a concert he had been to and he listened carefully. It sounded like fun.

Around sunset he drifted off back home. His head was swimming with things he'd learned from the older boys. He had never met anyone like them before. They were cool and he wanted to be like them. His mother screeched about him coming home late and asked him where he'd been but he just shrugged her off, he was in too good of a mood.

When it came time for school, he was happy to leave. He had waited for his chance to escape the house for years and the night before he was to leave for school he was so excited he barely slept. He would be going to Hogwarts and learning magic and he would use his new wand and best of all no one would yell or scream at him. He would be on his own. He liked that. When he finally did drift off to sleep he drempt of the castle and of magic yet undone.


	2. Chapter 2

Sirius entered the Hogwats Express nervously. He didn't quite know what to do. He knew his cousins were on board but they would be the last people he would sit with, he knew that. Instead he took a seat in an empty compartment. He was half way through trying to stow his trunk when someone tapped on the door. He looked up.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" A boy asked. He wore glasses and had messy hair. Sirius shrugged. "Sure, if you'll give me a hand with this."

The boy nodded, pushing up his glasses with his thumb as he did so. "Thanks for that." He said when they were done.

"Welcome." The boy got his own trunk up with the same help and they both relaxed into seats opposite one another.

Before they could speak the compartment door opened again and a pudgy little boy asked if he could sit. Sirius and the other boy shrugged and jerked their thumbs towards an empty seat. The pudgy boy sat down, looking excited.

"I'm James." Said the boy in glasses.

"Sirius." They reached across to shake hands.

"I'm Peter!" The pudgy boy said, looking out of breath.

Sirius and James caught each other with smirks and raised eyebrows. The door opened again and this time a girl with red hair asked if she could sit. They gave her the same treatment and she spent the rest of the time with her nose against the window, trying to see out. Again some one came and this time it was a thin boy who looked a bit ill. They let him sit too.

The door opened once more and a boy already in his robes came in and sat across from the red haired girl. By then, Sirius wasn't paying attention to her and was talking to James. It wasn't until the boy mentioned Slytherin that either he or James acknowledged them.

James raised an eyebrow. "Slytherin?" He asked rather loudly. "Who'd want to be in Slytherin? I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He turned to Sirius.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "My whole family's been in Slytherin." He muttered.

Jame's glasses almost slipped down his nose. "Blimey, and I thought you were alright."

The words hurt just a little but he brushed them off and grinned. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you headed if you've got the choice?"

James pretended he had a sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Just like my dad.  
He cried.

The boy already in his robes made a noise.

"Got a problem with that?" James asked hotly.

"No," Said the boy. "No if you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

Sirius felt it was his turn to get in on it and he wanted to prove to James that he was all right. "Where're you hoping to go, seeing your neither?" He sneered.

James burst out laughing just as the red haired girl by the window flared up. She glared at them both. "Come on ," She said. "Severus, let's find another compartment."

Sirius and James both mocked her and James even tried to trip Severus as they passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" They both yelled after them.

They caught each other's eyes and broke out laughing. The smaller, pudgy boy, Peter, was also laughing. James snorted. "I take it back, you're great." He said.

Sirius grinned. Relieved by the impression he'd made. He stretched and grinned. James turned to the window and waved out as the train started to move. "Last chance to say goodbye." He said, focusing all his attention out of the window.

Sirius shrugged. "Already did, They probably left, anyway." He was perfectly content not to be caught waving out at his mother.

James plopped back in his seat. "So, got everything for school?" He asked.

Sirius nodded.

"Me too. You know what? First thing I'm going to do is try out for Quiddich. You wanna try out with me?"

Sirius shrugged, thinking it might be a good idea. "Maybe."

The two other boys who had remained were talking. Peter was chattering excitedly and The other boy was listening, unable to get a word in.

They ignored them.

"Well," James said, cracking his knuckles. He had an excited look in his eyes. "I'm gonna try out for seeker. That's what. Or chaser." He paused. "Or keeper. I think I'd bee good at that." He nodded to himself. "What about you?"

"If I do, I guess for chaser or something." Sirius thought for a minute. He had a good broom and he flew well but he didn't know if he'd really try out for anything.

"I'm gonna try out too!" Peter squeaked.

James raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He and Sirius looked away from each other so that they wouldn't laugh.

"What about you, Remus?" Peter asked.

The sick looking boy laughed a little. "I'm not sure it's my thing." He said. "I like to watch but I don't think I'll join my house team."

James made a noise like he had said something completely crazy. "You all are so lame!"

Sirius grinned at him. He didn't know why but he felt he had a natural affinity for this person. He just got on with him. "Yeah yeah." He said.

James laughed again. He ran a hand through his hair and stuck his head out the compartment door. "Do you think they have any food on this train? I'm so hungry. I was so excited this morning I forgot to eat."

Just as he said it, the trolly stopped and they embarked in gross overspending and eating.

By the time that they changed and were in their robes, James was back to his previous level of excitement and Sirius had joined him.

"We'd better be in the same house." James said. "I'll write a formal letter of complaint if we're not." He laughed rather loud and excitedly as they exited the train. A few people away they could see the red haired girl and the boy who'd left their compartment. As soon as the two noticed them they moved away. Sirius and James waved that them. Remus and Peter followed behind. Peter was nearly exploding and Remus looked a little intimidated. He was looking up at the castle across the lake with big eyes and as soon as Sirius looked up he understood why.

It was huge and dark against the already black sky and the windows blazed and poured their light across the grounds and lake. It was fantastic. He held his breath as they were ushered into a boat, he suddenly felt very small. Next to him, James was staring up at the castle with his mouth open.

They slid across the lake, drawing closer to the massive fortress and when they bumped into the shore and got out, they stumbled a little. A woman stood waiting for them She cast a stern eye over the students, looking for trouble but, fining none, preceded to lead them inside.

"You'll wait here." She said. They were standing outside of a pair of giant doors. James was rocking on his feet and Peter was hopping up and down. Sirius found his insides twisting uncomfortably. He knew what came next but he didn't know how it would end. He knew all about sorting and it scared him.

For him, it could end two ways. He could either be in Slytherin and make his family happy but lose his new friend or end up somewhere else. He swallowed when the door opened and they were lead into a big and beautiful chamber. He'd lived with magic all of his life but there was something impressive about the hall he was in. It was huge and as he looked around and took in the floating candles and the ceiling that might or might not have been there and the massive number of people, all looking at them, he choked a little bit.

The group of first years stopped and stood huddled. To his right, James was on tip toe, trying to see. They pushed their was forward to get a better look. The witch from before gave them sharp looks but said nothing. Instead she cleared her throat.

"Welcome." She said, a small smile spreading across her face. It was small and contained. Sirius was already sizing her up. She looked like a no nonsense sort of person. "Welcome to your first year at Hogwarts. In a moment you will join the rest of the student body but before that, you must each take your turn to be sorted."

Sirius glanced at James. He looked pail and he had a sort of strangled grin fixed on his face. Sirius frowned and swallowed. The witch began calling out names, alphabetically. He wished his name began with any other letter than 'B'. 'Z' might have been nice.

The list was getting closer to the 'B's'. He clenched his fists. He wouldn't be in Slytherin. He promised that to himself. He would prove that he wasn't like his parents. He would prove to James that he was alright.

His name was called. "Black, Sirius."

He looked to his left. James looked a little surprised. He hadn't told him his last name. But whatever James was thinking, he have Sirius a little shove. "Make it in Gryffindor." He whispered.

Sirius squared his shoulders and marched forward. He felt small again. He sat on the little stool that the no nonsense looking witch had placed in front of the crowd. She might have said her name but he couldn't remember. She placed the sorting hat a pone his head and his vision was blocked. Suddenly it was just him and the hat.

He could hear his own breathing very loudly and then the hat spoke to him. He knew it would but he still jumped. "Ah" The hat said. "A Black." Sirius waited quietly. "I've had many from your noble family but few have made me stop and consider. You're not like the rest, are you? You're very different." Sirius wanted to agree with him but didn't say it aloud. "I don't see a Slytherin in you. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were better fit to be a GRYFFINDOR!" He yelled the last bit and Sirius found himself liquifying in his seat. The witch lifted the hat and pointed him towards the Gryffindor table. He rushed towards it, spotting his cousin's open mouths at the Slytherin table. He looked away not wanting to catch their eyes. James smacked his arm as he passed, grinning. Sirius grinned back and the table welcomed him with applause. He sat down and shook hands with a few people before relaxing into his seat.

He watched other fist year get sorted. The red haired girl from the train made it into Gryffindor and he moved down to make her room but she turned away, still mad about earlier. He shrugged, not really caring. He waited for James, to be sorted. The sick boy, Remus was sorted and he too landed in Gryffindor. He realized quite suddenly that he did not know James's last name and groaned, hopping it didn't end with a Z or something. He didn't think he could have stood the suspense.

Just when he was losing hope, Potter, James was called and his head shot up. James was pushing his way to the stool and sitting down. Sirius held his breath. The hat took not time at all and joyfully called out Gryffindor. Sirius clapped loudly and motioned for James to sit next to him. They high-fived.

James was beaming. "I knew it!" He cried happily. "I knew I'd be in Gryffindor!" He sat down between Sirius and Remus and the two of them watched the sorting finish out.

When the last name was called, they sat up again, they hadn't really paid all that much attention. The headmaster, stood up and it was the first time Sirius had ever seen Albus Dumbledore in person. His parents had spoken of him quite often and never said nice things and he had seen pictures in news papers but it was something else to behold the man in person. He stood at the head of the hall, beaming down at all of them and Sirius found himself ignoring all of his parents' words.

Dumbledore gazed around for a minute, apparently enjoying the sight of a hall filled with student and then clapped his hands together. "I for one am famished." He said. "And so I won't bore you with a long speech, well not just yet." He clapped his hands and instantly the table was filled with food. James made a noise of glee and the both of them had trouble refraining from diving headlong into the food. Dumbledore smiled for a moment and then in mock anger said "Well, what are you all waiting for?" He promptly sat down and made a show of helping himself to roast beef.

Sirius and James did just the same. Next to them, Peter and Remus dove in as well Remus looked starved and Sirius felt a little bad for him. James was talking loudly, the hall had filled with nose and he had to shout to be heard. "Didn't know your last name was Black." He said. "How come you didn't tell me?" He asked.

Sirius shrugged.

"Oh well, good thing you didn't. I might have been a prat and said something stupid."

Sirius didn't get the feeling he was being judged and grinned. "Well, whatever then." He batted Peter's hand away from a bowl of boiled potatoes and helped himself.

"I was so nervous. I mean, I knew I would be in Gryffindor but still, there's always a chance." James said.

"Me too. Thought for sure the hat would stick me in Slytherin and I'd have to kill myself or something." Sirius said. James choked over his steak laughing.

"I was rather surprised myself." Remus said, cutting his food serenely. "I'm pleased with where I am but I don't think I would have minded being in Ravenclaw either."

Sirius looked at him, the food seemed to be making a difference. He looked a bit less pail. "I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't have been that bad but you can't beat Gryffindor." He wondered vaguely how much trouble that comment would have gotten him at home.

James nodded. "Yeah, I mean Ravenclaw is okay but I'm still glad I'm in Gryffindor. So, how hard do you think our classes will be? Think we'll get a lot of homework the first day?"

"They'd better not give us homework!" Sirius said.

Remus laughed. "I read a bit out of my text books. Did either of you?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Heck no!"

Peter who was on Remus's other side shook his head. "I tried but they were pretty boring." He said. James nodded.

"Yeah, not really a good read." He looked up at the staff table. "Gotta say, I'm impressed with Dumbledore. My parents talk about him all the time. Man, some of the stories I've heard."

Sirius shifted. "Mine do too I guess." He didn't add that when they did it was usually about how bad he was.

"I've heard some stories and read a bit about him. He's been in the paper and I sometimes read the articles about him." Remus said snatching a piece of pie away from James' plate.

They looked up at the table for a minute before returning to their food.

They were just finishing desert when Dumbledore stood up again and then quite suddenly the hall fell silent. Sirius watched him, trying to keep his parents' words from his head and make his own opinion. Dumbledore was looking around the hall, waiting patiently for the last dregs of conversation to end.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I hope you all enjoyed the feast. I myself found it quite wonderful. Now, there are a few things I must mention, before we all turn in and I will try and be quick, many of you look as though you're going to fall asleep in your seats. First, as all older student know and first years will now know, the forbidden forest is, in fact forbidden. Out care taker, you will all remember from last year, wants me to remind you all that there are appointed receptacles for trash and anyone caught littering or causing damage to the school will be given detention. I would also like to note that there is no magic between classes and that we must all act responsibly. Now, if prefects would all please show he first years to their common rooms, we can all go to bed. Sleep well and good luck in another year of schooling."

There was applause as he finished and James and Sirius stood to follow their prefect. Remus and Peter hung close to them. The prefect lead them up several flights of stares to a large portrait of a very large woman in pink. She greeted them all cheerfully and the prefect gave out the password. They filed in and Sirius was stunned by the common room. It was large and rich and in such a contrast with his parent's house. It had a warmth theirs' lacked. It was comfortable and inviting. He looked around and listened to the prefect direct them up to their dormitory.

As he and the others chose beds he realized how tired he was and he sank into his bed. Happy and full. James had the bed next to his and Remus and Peter were not far off. James was sitting up admiring the room and Sirius thought he had something to say to him, but whatever it was he quickly forgot and drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

It was early light that awoke Sirius. Well, early light and James loudly getting dressed. He rolled over and groaned. Remus was already up too and was just tying his shoes. He smiled at Sirius before continuing. Sirius sat up and unwillingly threw away the covers. His head swam with the night before and he had to shake it to get his bearings. He got dressed quickly and joined James in heading down to the Great Hall.

When they arrived the hall was already packed with breakfast foods and students. Sirius and James sat down in the same seats as the night before and were half way through their meal when the witch same witch that had called their names during the sorting cleared her throat behind them and handed them each their schedules. They looked them over, temporarily abandoning their food.

"Doesn't look too bad." James said.

Sirius nodded. "Guess not. Won't know till we get there though."

"I like the flying lessons. Bet they'll be a bit of a joke." James said through a mouth full of food. "I'm a great flyer."

Sirius grinned. "Me too." He set down his schedule and went back to eating.

Remus was still looking his over. "Looks like we'll have some tough classes today." He said.

"Yeah, coulda started us off easier."

They finished eating and headed on to their first class. Potions. Finding seats together, they sat down and waited for Peter to come hurrying in after them. James gave Sirius a look that said: Do something about him! Sirius glanced at Peter and shook his head.

The teacher stood at the front of the room smiling. Sirius had the feeling he was sizing up the class.

Once they were all seated the teacher waved his hands for quiet. "Welcome to potions!" He said enthusiastically. "I'm professor Horace Slughorn. I'm sure I'll learn all of your names soon so lets not waist our hours with introductions, there will be time for all of that later. Well now, how many of you have ever brewed a potion before?"

There were several tentative hands but no more than a few.

"Oh, that's terrible. Well, I see we'll have some work to do. Now, with that being said I think we should start off our lesson with a quiz." James and Sirius caught each other's eye and made disgusted faces. There was a collective groan from around the room and Slughorn made shushing noises. "It's not that bad!" He protested, passing out papers.

Sirius looked his over. It wasn't that bad. It was mostly common knowledge questions and he was able to answer quite a few of him. Next to him, James had finished his own quiz and was doodling on the corner of the paper.

"Eyes on our own paper!" Slughorn sang.

Sirius shrugged and looked away. Peter was struggling to answer question eight. He groaned inwardly, hoping the boy would find some other friends soon.

"Times up!" Slughorn announced, waving his wand to collect the papers. He looked them over while the class talked quietly. "Oh, this is abysmal!" He lamented. "Only half of you scored a passing mark! Though, Bravo to miss Evans here, she only missed two." He beamed at a girl and Sirius saw that it was the angry red haired girl. She was sitting next to her greasy friend.

Sirius and James looked at their papers. They had been part of the half that passed. Slughorn paused over Sirius and he found himself looking up at the teacher.

"Well, well, well!" Slughorn said. "A Black that's not in Slytherin. That's unusual. You know I've taught quite a few from your family but you're the first Gryffindor." He shook his head as though it was some great sadness and walked on, beaming at the red haired girl.

James gave Sirius a smirk and shook his head in a mocking fashion like Slughorn had. "How could you!?" He whispered sorrowfully.

Sirius elbowed him.

After lunch they headed to defense against the dark arts. The teacher was a thin, older man but he had bright eyes and looked excited to teach the class. Unlike Slughorn he took the time to call out roll and then gave his name.

"Well, I think it's going to be a wonderful year." He said. "I'm professor Hartly." He then carried out the rest of class by telling stories about famous witches and wizards who had battled dark forces. Sirius and James only managed to listen part way before they started passing notes and then just talking. Hartly seemed not to notice.

They finished out the class and the two of them headed out for dinner, dropping their hings in the dormitory first.

Dinner was spectacular and Sirius was struck again by the warmth of the school. His own home was so much colder. It was like the school had a glow to it that his parent's house didn't and it helped to be around friends who didn't constantly make snide comments or put him down for speaking his mind. He thought it was more like a home should be. There was something very wonderful about it.

James was talking animatedly to Remus who they thought was an okay guy and didn't mind having around. Even Peter had been less of a nuisance as the day wore on. They had kind of gotten used to him.

Sirius felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see his cousin Andromeda. "Hey." He said, uneasily.

"Hi, Sirius." She said. "Narcissa wants to see you after dinner. Meet us in the entrance hall." She glanced at James and Remus and at Peter who was trying to hang onto their words before sweeping off.

He felt his warm glow ebb. Whatever they wanted could not be good. Narcissa, though not as bad as her sister Bellatrix, was one of his least favorite relatives.

"What was that about?" James asked once she was gone.

Sirius shrugged. "She's my cousin."

James made a noise of understanding. "What'd she want?"

"Said my other cousin wants to meet me after dinner."

James nodded. "Okay. You want me to wait up while you talk to them?" He asked.

Sirius shifted uneasily. "No, that's okay."

"Well, whatever you say man."

Sirius was quiet through the rest of dinner. He knew his family would not be happy with his sorting and as much as he wanted to believe that he didn't care if they got mad, as much as he wanted to believe that he wanted to make them mad, he still felt his insides twist. Members of his family had been downed for less. He finished the rest of his meal and dragged himself out to the entrance hall as quickly as he could.

Narcissa stood waiting, Andromeda was with her but she looked board, like she wished she was somewhere else.

"Evening, Sirius." Narcissa said coldly. Her voice was quiet. "How have you been enjoying your first day at Hogwarts?"

He shrugged. "It was fine." He knew she hadn't asked him to come out and talk about his first day.

She smoothed her robes. "Well that's good. You know, I sent a letter to your mother last night. I expect you'll be receiving one from her soon." She paused. "I hope you don't mind. I only sent it because I didn't think you would."

He bit his inner cheek. "You didn't have to."

She sighed and amended her posture so that it was perfect. "Your mother needed to know what house you're in. I expect she'll be very disappointed in you."

"I didn't ask to be in Gryffindor. The hat just said that I wasn't a Slytherin." He snapped.

"Yes, but all the same, you don't seem very upset about it and you don't seem to care." Her voice was very quiet. "And the company I saw you keeping today." She shook her head. "That Potter boy's whole family is made up of blood traitors. Is that the kind of people you want to be associated with?"

His temper flared up. "Yeah, it is!"

She made a noise of anger. "Sirius, you are disgracing your family!"

"Good!" Out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn that he saw Andromeda smile.

"Sirius, Blacks have been in Slytherin for generations, who do you think you are to go out and undo centuries of tradition?"

He turned away towards the marble staircase. "Good night." He said, marching up the stares.

"This isn't over. You had better go and speak to the headmaster!" Narcissa called after him. "You get this straitened out!"

He looked at a suit of armor that was standing next to him. He would have liked to push it down the stares at her.

When he got back to Gryffindor tower, it was mostly empty and he was grateful for that. His head was swimming and he was angry. His cousin hadn't needed to go running for his mother.

He paced around the dormitory and scowled. Whatever his mother would say, it wouldn't be kind. She would be furious and he didn't want to have to deal with that. He sat down on his bed and sighed. She would probably right another letter about his friends now and he would have to deal with that too.

The door opened and a boy came in. He waved and went to his bed and grabbed his books before returning to the common room and it wasn't until the door had banged shut that Sirius relaxed. He was so angry that he could have broken something.

The door opened and James stuck his messy head in. "Hey, wanna come down to the common room? We're gonna write that essay Slughorn assigned." He said.

Sirius looked up and something of his anger or distress must have shown on his face because James raised an eyebrow.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just great." Sirius swallowed his anger and headed down into the common room with the others.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning at breakfast, Sirius's mother's letter arrived as promised. He read it over quickly.

"I am appalled! My own son in Gryffindor. I can hardly believe it. I've written a letter to Dumbledore, requesting that you be moved to Slytherin. I don't know how you managed to do this but you have reached a new level of disgrace. Rest assured that the minute you return home for the holidays, you will be punished. I am disgusted. Do you think it is a joke? You are shaming your family by being in that house. I'm ashamed to even call you my son and I'm disgusted that that fool Dumbledore would allow this happen. I know that you had something to do with this mess and when I find out how you did it I will most certainly see to it that you are properly punished. In the mean time I am having your cousins keep an eye on you so don't you dare get into any trouble you nasty, selfish child, you've done enough on your fist night already."

Sirius sighed and folded up the letter. Next to him, James had received one from his parents too, congratulating him on being in Gryffindor. He read a few lines. "So proud of you. I'm so happy. Well done." He sighed and took an extra large gulp of his pumpkin juice to take his mind off it. He choked and Remus had to thump him on his back.

"Thanks." He muttered hoarsely. He didn't want to change houses. He didn't want to be in Slytherin. Hell, he'd even told his mother once that he'd prefer to be in Gryffindor. He sat back in his seat thinking. James had folded up his letter and was helping himself to pancakes.

"We got charms today." He said. "That should be neat. My mum liked charms."

Sirius looked over his own schedule, he hadn't really looked at it when he'd first got the list. James was right. They had charms. Quite suddenly the week already seemed long.

Remus, who was sitting next to Sirius gave him a strange look and Sirius panicked, wondering if he had seen the letter. Whatever it was, Remus turned away and reached for another muffin.

All through that morning's charms lesson, he was in a state of panic. He dreaded being called to talk to Dumbledore. He dreaded changing houses.

When the tiny professor in charge of the charms class called his name sharply Sirius jumped in his seat. He hadn't been paying attention.

"Mr. Black!" The teacher squeaked. "Please pay attention. I'm trying to get you all prepared for your first year of charms."

Sirius nodded, embarrassed. He tried to pay attention but he had so many things going through his head that he didn't really feel like part of the class. He felt like he was drifting and there was a knot in is stomach so big he thought he would puke.

Towards the end of the lesson a student came in and handed the professor a note and Sirius felt his heart speed up. The Tiny teacher looked up at him and handed him the note. "Go to the headmaster's office at the end of class Mr. Black." He said.

Next to him James looked over at the note, eyebrows raised. "You in some kind of trouble?" He asked.

Sirius pretended that he didn't know. He shrugged and slumped in his seat. When the bell rang he waited for the room to clear out before he asked the teacher where Dumbledore's office was. James stood by the door waiting for him.

"Want me to come?" He asked.

Sirius shook his head. "Nah, go to lunch."

They turned and went in different directions and as he rounded the corner, he passed right through a ghost.

"I say!" The ghost cried indignantly. "Do watch where you're going!"

He looked up. It was the Gryffindor ghost. He remembered him from the first night's feast. "Sorry." He mumbled, shivering a little at the nasty feeling the ghost left on him.

The ghost adjusted his collar. "Well, first years can be forgive, I suppose." He said. "Ah, but why are you all the way over here? It's lunch time and the great hall is the other way."

Sirius hesitated. "I'm going to the headmaster's office." He said.

"Well! What a coincidence, as am I. Shall we accompany one another?"

Shrugging, Sirius nodded.

"And what would be your name?"

"Sirius Black." He said.

The ghost raised an eyebrow. "A Black in Gryffindor? That's very unusual. The Bloody Baron has had almost all of the Blacks that I know of."

Sirius shifted his bag. He was a little proud of that but at the same time the ghost's words only reminded him why he was headed to Dumbledore's office in the first place . "Well, guess I turned out a bit different."

"Yes, indeed!" The ghost's head wobbled. "Ah, but I forget myself. I have not given my name." He drew himself up and bowed, keeping his head in place with one hand. "I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. You may call me Sir Nicholas."

Sirius nodded again.

"So, not in trouble, I hope?" Sir Nicholas asked.

"Not that I know of. You?" Sirius didn't think a ghost could be in trouble but he asked anyway.

"Alas, I am very troubled. Our resident poltergeist Peeves is causing havoc and I must seek the headmaster's help." He shook his head mournfully and it wobbled sickeningly.

"I haven't met him." Said Sirius, wondering what it would be like to meet a poltergeist. He had heard stories but had never met one.

"Count yourself lucky." Said Sir Nicholas gravely. "Though I'm sure that luck won't last. You'll meet him sooner or later and when you do I hope for your sake that you do not suffer much."

Sirius paused, wondering just how bad the poltergeist was but just as he did so, Sir Nicholas stopped and he had to stop himself from walking through him again. "This is the Headmaster's office." He said, serenely and with nothing more he drifted through the stone gargoyle that stood before them.

Sirius stared at it for a moment. "Um, hello?" He waited but there was no reply and then he knocked on the gargoyle. "Hello?"

"Oh, the password is Cabbage Soup." Sir Nicholas said, popping his head through the wall above the gargoyle. Sirius jumped as the head retreated.

"Oh. Cabbage Soup." He said, thinking himself stupid for not realizing that there would be a password. The gargoyle jumped to the side and he found himself hesitating. He did not want to go up to the office. What if he really was transferred to Slytherin? What if his mother had been so mad that she'd actually come to the school? He forced himself to take a step forward.

He climbed the stairs, wishing they were longer and found himself outside the office door more quickly that he would have liked. He waited a few second before knocking.

"Just a moment!" A voice called from within and then Sir Nicholas floated through the door looking down trodden and the door opened.

Sirius peered around inside, adjusting his bag as he did so Dumbledore was sitting at a large desk, hands folded on top of it. He smiled and motioned for Sirius to enter.

"Please, come in." He said. Sirius spotted a letter on his desk and recognized his mother's hand writing. His blood turned cold as he set his bag down and sank into a chair.

Dumbledore leaned across the desk and continued to smile. "I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch." He said. "I'll try to be quick."

Sirius shrugged, feeling hopeless. "It's alright." He didn't feel much like eating at the moment.

"Well, until then, have some cookies to tide you over." Dumbledore offered a tin and Sirius took one only nibbling a it. His mouth felt very dry.

"Well, Mr. Black. This morning I received a letter from your mother." Dumbledore paused and Sirius had an urge to apologize for whatever his mother had said. "It would appear that she's not pleased with your sorting. She wishes to have you switched to Slyherin." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Now, what do you say to that?"

"What?" He was thrown off. He didn't understand what Dumbledore was asking.

Dumbledore smiled. "Would you like to be in Slytherin?"

Sirius hesitated. "wha- do I have a say?"

"Well, yes. If you would like to. Would you prefer to be in Slytherin?"

He glanced at the letter and then at the headmaster. "No."

"Well then! That's settled and I'll write and tell your mother that it's quite impossible to have you switched." Dumbledore tapped his nose and winked. "Hat's decision is quite final, you know."

Sirius looked up at him as the headmaster took out a roll of parchment. "Is that all?" He asked, disbelievingly?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Should there be more?"

He didn't know what to say and sat dumbly.

The headmaster smiled again. "Well, I think that's it. Enjoy your lunch break."

Sirius got up and after making sure the door to the office was closed, he raced down the stares and to the great hall. He felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. He was not in trouble and he was not in Slytherin. He spotted James and the others and made a dive for them.

"Hey!" James cheered. "What was that all about?"

Sirius grabbed a sandwich. "I forgot some books at home. I just had to pick them up from the headmaster's office."

James nodded as though it made perfect sense and shoved part of a sandwich down his throat.

Next to him, Remus raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Sirius swallowed his sandwich and reached for another. He was wonderfully happy not to be in Slytherin and it only vaguely struck him that Dumbledore had lied for him. Well, maybe he knew how argumentative his parents could be.

They had History of Magic next and it was a bore. Sirius couldn't for the life of him pay attention but luckily, neither could James. They spent the entire class goofing off in the back. It was only twenty minutes in that they incurred the wrath of the red haired girl.

She turned around in her seat and gave them an angry look. "Could you please be quiet?" She hissed.

Sirius gave her a disdainful look and James threw a paper wad at her. She shook her head as though she could not believe them and moved across the class room. They waved goodbye, still grinning.

At dinner, Sirius avoided his cousins, although Andromeda gave him a polite wave. He was in the good spirits that usually accompany a lesson spent goofing off and he was not about to go and run it by talking to them.

It was only after dinner was over when Remus pulled him aside did his cheerfulness slip.

They were most of the way up to the common room when Remus cornered him. "I didn't mean to," Remus said. "but this morning I accidentally read part of your mother's letter." He paused, looking apologetic. "And I know it's none of my business but are you going to switch houses?"

Sirius looked at him, not knowing what to say. He did not yet know Remus well enough to know if he was being judged but he opted for the truth. "Heck no! I'm staying in Gryffindor, mate."

Remus smiled a little. "Are you going to tell James?"

Sirius shrugged and looked out the window they were stopped next to. "I dunno. Maybe."

He nodded. "I see, well, I'm glad." Remus looked as though he truly was glad.

Sirius shrugged. "I'd still have been friends with you guys if I'd switched."'

He laughed. "Well, that's nice to hear."


	5. Chapter 5

It was potions the next day and Slughorn gleefully surprised them all by assigning a very complex potion to brew before the end of class. Sirius and James broke into a pair and set to work, half brewing, half mumbling over their shared cauldron.

"You know, we have that flying class today." James said. "That should be fun."

Sirius nodded. "Looking forward to seeing you wipe out."

"Not a chance!"

"Think we'll get to play quidditch?"

James threw a handful of ingredients into the cauldron with gusto and Slughorn gave him a disapproving look. "We'd better! I'll be damned if I'm not gonna be on the house team!"

Sirius nodded. "I'm rooting for you." It amazed him just how good of friends they had become in such a short time but some people, he guessed, just had a natural affinity for one another.

Next to him, Remus was trying dutifully to prevent Peter from ruining their potion. "Oh, just stop letting him help!" Sirius hissed, exasperatedly.

Remus gave him a shrug but took the advice.

"Times up!" Slughorn called. "Everyone back away from your potions, that's it!" He came trotting around the classroom, shaking his head here and there and muttering a few times. He stoped over the red haired girl and her Slytherin friend's cauldron and beamed. "Oh, well done miss Evans! And you too, Mr. Snape! This is wonderful!" He held up a ladle full of their potion for the class to see. "See here everyone! This is absolutely perfect! Three points to both Gryffindor and Slytherin!"

The two of them smiled upwardly at him as he moved on and Sirius pretended to vomit into their cauldron. James snickered and Remus had to cover his mouth as well.

Slughorn shook his head over Peter and Remus's cauldron. "Mr. Lupin, I expected better of you, you did so well on my quiz the first day." He cast an eye towards Peter. "Perhaps you had better pick a different partner next time?" He moved on to Sirius and James' cauldron. "Well done boys." He moved on again and they exchanged looks.

"I don't think we're favorites." James said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye and forcing a catch in his voice.

"He'll learn!" Sirius cried in a dramatic whisper. "We shan't be overlooked again!" They broke into laughter and Slughorn turned around with a very confused look on his face face.

"Boys?" He asked.

James waved him off. "Nothing professor!"

Slughorn assigned an essay to all student except Evans an Snape which both boys thought was extremely unfair. "Our potion was well done!" James muttered as they made heir way down to lunch. He looked back at the two essay free students and frowned.

"Ah, whatever." Sirius yawned. "Let's just get to lunch. I'm starving." They hurried on and took their usual seats in the great hall. Three days in and he was already feeling at home.

He was half way through a bowl of soup when Remus tapped him on his shoulder. "Isn't that your cousin?" He asked.

Sirius looked up. Andromeda was trying to make her way over to their table. She had her head held high and was ignoring the stares she was getting from other Gryffindors. She stopped by Sirius and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Narcissa is mad at you. She knows you aren't changing houses. She's going to try and catch you by the front doors, I advise you to hurry and get out before she can catch you." She straitened up and sped off.

He stared after her, not knowing what had just happened. He'd always liked Andromeda more than her sisters but he'd never really been close with her and he'd always thought she felt the same way.

"Something wrong?" James asked. "Who's Narcissa?"

"My cousin."

James nodded. "How many cousins do you have?"

Sirius elbowed him. "Hurry up and eat." He drank the rest of his soup and picked up his bag, eager not to meet Narcissa.

Fortunately, they made their way down to the green houses for their first Herbology lesson without running into any relatives.

The green houses were filled with sun and shown brightly in the afternoon. The teacher, a cheerful looking witch introduced herself as Professor Sprout and spent the class going over a syllabus and check list, making sure all students had everything they needed. Sirius felt warm and very alive in the sunlight and when they headed to their final lesson of the day, he and James were both in high spirits.

"I can't wait to fly!" James said. "Just watch you're gonna be blown away! I am a great flyer! I have a real nice broom at home, too." He had a wild look of excitement in his eyes.

Sirius laughed. He wasn't bad himself. "You know, you keep saying that but I'm betting you wipe out." He teased.

"Oh, shut up, I'm great!" James stopped. "Ugh! Look at those brooms, they're horrible!"

They were in deed, the brooms waiting for them were very old and out of shape, although it looked as though some one made a conscious effort to keep them up.

"Don't complain." Some one said briskly. They turned to see a witch marching up the grounds towards them. "It's unattractive." James bit his lip.

They lined up with Remus and Peter and chose brooms. A little ways away, stood Evans and Snape. "Do we have to do everything with the Slytherins?" James moaned.

Evans gave him a nasty glare.

"Alright class, I'm Madam Hooch, let's start. Put your right hand over your brooms and say up." The teacher commanded. "And cut the chit chat, this is a class, not lunch."

"Right to the point, isn't she?" Sirius muttered, doing as he was told. The broom jerked and twitched before leaping into his hand. He looked at James who had waited for him to get done before commanding his own.

"Up." James said confidently and the broom did just that. It bolted right into his hand. He looked around to see who was watching and received applause from Peter. He looked pleased with himself. Sirius shook his head and looked around. Other students were having more trouble. Peter's broom wasn't moving at all and Remus's jumped about a foot into the air at least three times and fell back before it finally bounced into his hand.

Gradually, most of the class's brooms began following orders and those who's did not, simply picked theirs up.

"Alright," Madam Hooch called. "Good start." Though she did not sound as though she meant it. "Now, swing over your broom and hover for a minute before touching down. Don't go more than a few feet, I don't want any injuries." She eyed Peter, who had had to pick up his broom.

Sirius and James swung over their broom simultaneously and they grinned at each other. "Bet I can go higher than you." Sirius said.

"Bet you can't."

They rose a few feet before shooting a glance at Madam Hooch, who had her back to them and then with wide grins they shot upwards. Someone cried out and they heard a sharp whistle blow.

"Potter! Black! Get down here right now!" Madam Hooch ordered.

They glanced down at her and laughed, still rising higher. "I mean it, boys!" She called.

"Gonna give up?" Sirius asked.

"You first, I could stay up here all day." James said, rising a few more feet to prove his point. Sirius matched him. From where they were, they had a good view of the school, they had risen to ridiculous heights and could see for miles.

Sirius leaned on his broom, enjoying the view. He could see the lake and mountains in the distance. He could see the whole of Hogwarts grounds spread out beneath him. It was fantastic and he felt a wonderful sense of freedom. James was grinning at him, sitting up strait on his broom, with the wind blowing his hair. He made a motion towards the ground and the two of them dove.

"Race you!" James called, leaning on his broom stick.

Sirius followed suit.

The ground drew closer and closer and then quite suddenly, James passed him and swerved up to avoid crashing. Sirius did the same and landed a few seconds later.

Madam Hooch was red in the face and spluttering. "The both of you, off your brooms this instant!" She squawked. "NOW!"

They climbed off laughing. "I won!" James cheered.

"And your prize is a detention!" She snapped. "Oh, and before you get disappointed, the runner up prize is the same, Mr. Black."

Sirius and James looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Madam Hooch turned even redder. "In all my years!" She cried. "I am taking you to see your head of house as soon as this lesson is over! Now you two will sit out for the remainder of the class." She pointed her wand as a set of benches and they felt their feet jerked out from beneath them and begin marching of their own accord towards the bench.

Their legs threw them down on the bench and despite the overwhelming amount of trouble they wee sure to be in, they continued to laugh.

"That was brilliant!" James cheered, earning an angry glare from Madam Hooch.

"I was wrong, you're a great flyer." Sirius said.

"Told you and you're not half bad yourself."

They cheered on Remus and Peter, the former looking as though he wished they would do something else and the latter looking thrilled.

True to her word, as soon as class was over, Madam Hooch dragged them to their head of house's office. As luck would have it, it was the no nonsense looking witch.

"Professor, McGonagall!" Madam Hooch snapped. "These boys. . ." She looked at them. "These boys behaved terribly in today's flying lesson." She was at a complete loss for words.

Professor McGonagall blinked. "What did they do?"

"I told the class not to hover more than a couple of feet off the ground and the minute I turned my back to help another student, they shoot off into the sky! If they were less than fifty feet up, I'll eat my hat!"

"Fifty feet!" McGonagall cried.

"And they kept going higher!"

Sirius and James had to fight to keep from laughing again. Somewhere in the back of his head, Sirius knew he was in trouble but somewhere else in his head a voice was saying that the damage was done and he might as well enjoy it.

"And then when I told them to come down, they ignored me and went higher." Madam Hooch was building. "And then! The fools practically did a nose dive down! It was some of the most reckless flying I've ever seen. This one!" She grabbed James by the back of his collar and shook him. "He waited until the very last minute to pull up!" Despite her anger, she sounded impressed. "I have never in my life had a first year class this. . . RECKLESS!"

McGonagall looked impressed too but she also looked angry. "Do you boys know how dangerous that was?" She asked.

Sirius shrugged and James waved her words away. "I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think I could."

"You're both going to be in detention!" Madam Hooch cried. "And don't let me ever catch you doing something like this again, weather you think you can do it or not!"

They looked at each other and James cocked an eyebrow.

"I'll have your punishments ready for you by noon tomorrow." McGonagall said. "I'll inform you both in your Transfiguration class then." She glared at them. "You can go now and don't let me catch you back in my office this week."

Sirius grinned back at her as they left. "See you next week then!" They hurried on before she could call after them and broke into laughter.

"Wow, third day of school and we already have a detention!" James laughed. "That's gotta be some kind of record!"

They dropped their books off at lunch and hurried on to dinner. Peter and Remus were waiting for them.

"What happened?" Remus asked.

"Detention." Sirius said.

"Doing what?"

"Dunno yet."

Peter bounced in his seat. "You guys were so cool! Everyone was talking about it! They said you guys will definitely make the house team!"

James seemed to glow with excitement. "Oh, I know I will!" He said. "Did you guys see that dive I did?"

"The whole class saw it!" Remus said, laughing. "It was pretty impressive."

"It wasn't that impressive. You were just showing off." A girl's voice said. They looked up to see the red haired Evans girl.

James grinned at her. "You didn't like it?"

"Like I said, you were just showing off." She said, marching away.

"What crawled up her-" Sirius started but he was cut off by James waving a hand in his face. "What?"

"She's just trying to act cool. I bet she was really impressed."

Sirius shook his head.

That night in the common room they recounted their adventure to several other students who wished to hear first hand what had happened and became the center of attention quite rapidly. Evans sat in the corner scowling.

Sirius let James do most of the telling, it seemed to mean a lot to him but they took turns in relating the best bits and the story was helped along by Peter's constant exclamations of: It was so cool! And You should have seen it!

They went to bed late and proud of themselves.


	6. Chapter 6

The morning did not start off well, despite having charms, again, which should have been an easy class, breakfast was ruined for Sirius. A letter arrived for him, scarlet and smoking.

His first thought was that his mother must have been extra mad with him because her usual take was that family matters were best kept in the family. Therefor, he panicked when the owl dropped it in front of him.

James freaked too. "Get that oughta here before it blows!" He said, pretending to duck and cover.

He took off running for the entrance hall and was in such a panic that he didn't even notice James following. The letter exploded just as he set his foot hit the first step of the marble staircase.

"Sirius Black, I am ashamed to call you my son! In one week, you have managed to cause more trouble than any other member of the House of Black in family history!" His mother's voice rang out unnaturally loud in the empty hall and he was sure that anyone sitting just inside the doors could hear it. "How dare you act this way in school! I cannot believe how bad your behavior has been. I received a letter from your head of house last night stating that you have earned a detention. Did your father and I raise you to behave like a common mudblood? As though you have no manners? And Narcissa tells me that you've been hanging around blood traitors and the like, I will not permit this! The Potter family is nothing but a family of blood traitor, unbefitting the company of a Black! You will socialize with pure blood students, befitting your family name. I am appalled. I am disgusted. You are behaving like muggle trash! If you do not amend your behavior, your father and I will come down to the school and deal with you ourselves."

The letter caught flames and shriveled to the ground. He turned and leaned on the bannister, watching the final scraps burn and twist into ash. His eyes drifted upward and met a pair of knees. They went a little higher and met a chest and with great effort he made them go even higher and they met with the very shocked face of James Potter.

Sirius looked at him, feeling drained. He couldn't think of anything at all to say.

James' mouth fell open and he looked down at the letter in disgust. "Was that your mother?" He asked quietly.

Sirius looked down at him from his place of the stares and nodded.

There was a thick silence. They could hear the nose from breakfast and hear the clinking of spoons and plates but in the entrance hall neither of them spoke.

James was staring at the letter. He had a look of puzzled disgust fixed on his face.

Sirius wished he would say something.

James looked up and he looked a bit angry. "I thought you were alright." He said, face twisting in disgust.

"I am alright." Sirius whispered. "It's her that's not and I promise I'm not like her."

James looked down at the remains of the letter again and nodded. "Guess that's why you didn't wave goodbye to her on the train then."

Sirius nodded too and sank onto the step. He crushed the scraps form the letter beneath his heel and. stared up at James, waiting for hm to say more.

James came and leaned against the bannister opposite from where Sirius had been standing. "She doesn't seem very pleasant." He said.

"She's not."

James nodded and rested his elbows on the banister, watching him closely.

"Look, I'm sorry she said hat stuff about your family."

James waved it off. "It's true and we're proud of it."

Sirius chuckled a little, still nervous. "I wish I could say the same thing." He said.

James shrugged. "So, are you going to start socialize with pure blood students, befitting your family name now?" He asked.

"Not a chance."

James grinned. "Good. You wanna go back to breakfast?"

Sirius took one last look at the charred remains of the howler and nodded. "Sure."

James punched his arm. "Cheer up. I'm not gonna hold your mum against you."

Sirius smiled gratefully. He could never tell James just how much that meant to him. "Thanks."

They returned to their seats at the house table and Remus gave him a small smile. "Everything alright?" He asked.

James nodded. "Right as rain, mate." He grabbed a piece of toast and began buttering it. "So, charms today, is it? That should be easy."

Peter nodded. "Yep." He looked at his plate doubtfully. "I hope Flitwick doesn't give us any hard work."

"Peter, you are pathetic." Sirius said, trying to get back into the swing of things. He wanted to put the letter as far away from himself as possible. He was at Hogwarts and his parents were at home. They were worlds away.

They hurried on to class and James made a conscious effort to take Sirius's mind off of the howler. He earned several disproving looks from Flitwick but they didn't deter hm in the slightest.

They headed on to Transfiguration with higher spirits. It was then that they remembered the detention but somehow it wasn't that big of a deal.

Before class, McGonagall called them up to her desk and handed them both pieces of paper. "You two have detention Saturday night with Madam Hooch. You'll be helping her polish all of the school brooms."

They looked at each other, taht didn't sound so bad.

"No more nonsense like that, understood?"

They nodded and returned to their seats.

This time she addressed the class. "Good afternoon. I'm professor McGonagall, head of the transfiguration department." She waved her wand in front of the black board and her name appeared in gold lettering. "Transfiguration is one of the most difficult subjects you will learn at Hogwarts. I do not expect many of you to catch on right away but lack of effort is not an excuse." She then immediately set about giving them a long page of boring and complex notes to copy. By the end of class, Sirius was sure his hand would fall off.

They made their way down to dinner with Peter begging them to let him copy their notes. He had fallen asleep.

"Detention on our first Saturday!" James cried indignantly. "Can you believe it?"

Sirius nodded bitterly.

They ate in a gloomy silence that was only occasionally broken by a sigh or a groan and then spent the rest of the evening doing McGonagall's homework.

The next morning they were greeted with double potions. Sirius groaned. He did not want to spend the whole day over a boiling cauldron of whatever Slughorn would assign them to make and when the day was finally over, they still had Astronomy at midnight.

James fell asleep on a couch in the common room and had to be woken up before the class.

It was boring work, the Astronomy teacher talked for quite a while and then berated several students for not bringing their equipment before the class. When class finally ended, they dragged themselves back down stares to bed and fell promptly asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Sirius awoke blissfully on Saturday. Even with the detention hanging over him, he was glad to have a day off. He and James spent the morning out on the grounds, skirting the dark forest and joking about throwing Peter in the lake.

Remus followed them out onto the grounds and tried to get them to finish their transfiguration homework but failed and eventually he gave up himself.

They wondered around, scoping out the grounds and exploring. James had sneaked a large amount of toast out from breakfast and would occasionally treat himself to a slice, mostly he threw them at Peter.  
Towards noon they headed back to the castle, ready for lunch. It had been a very relaxing morning and the prospect of a detention did not seem daunting to them at all.

The ate cheerfully and it was not until they were almost done that Sirius spotted Narcissa winding her way over to him, Andromeda following behind. He frowned and attempted to hide behind a milk jug but it was too late. She had already seen him.

"I'll be quick." She said, icily. "I saw you got your mother's letter yesterday." Her eyes flickered over James and Remus and lingered disgustedly on Peter."And I notice that you don't seem to be heeding her words."

A tall blond boy came up behind her. "Everything alright, Narcissa?" He asked.

She touched his arm delicately. "Yes, I was just speaking to my cousin. Have you met Sirius before?"

He nodded. "Yes but it was a long time ago." He started to hold out his hand but Narcissa stopped him.

"Anyway, Sirius, I advise you to start behaving properly. The whole school heard about your little stunt the other day during your flying lesson and I don't recommend that you make any more of a spectacle of yourself."

He glared at her and coolly as he could. "You know? Why don't you stop writing my mother? It'd save you both a lot of trauma. I'm going to do what I want, with the friends I chose and you can't stop me."

She sighed and turned away, swinging her hair behind her. "You are impossible and you're on your way to disownment."

Andromeda lingered behind and Sirius glared up at her but she smiled a little. "Cissy's mad." She said. "But I'll try and stop her from writing Aunt Walburga any more letters." She leaned in and whispered. "I loved the story of your flying lesson." She gave a small laugh and followed after her sister.

Sirius shook his head and returned to his plate.

"Are you gonna get another howler?" Peter asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

He poked at his food and sighed. "I wish she would leave me alone."

James frowned. "The other one seemed okay."

"Yeah, Andromeda is nice. You should see their other sister though, she graduated last year. Man is she a pain. She's as bad as my mother."

"You got a lot of relatives like that, huh?" James asked.

Sirius nodded and wondered f James's parents had ever talked about his family the way his had spoken of theirs'. His parents hadn't said much about the Potters but they had been sure to mention them whenever they were on a rant about blood traitors.

James did not seem disturbed by his cousins. He continued eating and talking about Quidditch as though they had not been interrupted and Sirius was grateful.

After lunch they made another effort on their homework, doing the easier charms work first and reading Slughorn's chapter assignment before embarking on transfiguration again.

It was nearly time for dinner when they finished.

"Perfect timing." James yawned, stretching.

Sirius threw his transfiguration book away from him like it was evil and yawned. "My brain is fried." He said.

Peter sighed. "I still have some work to do."

"Jesus, Peter!" Sirius cried. "We've been at this for hours and you're still not done?"

James laughed and Peter flushed.

"Lay off him." Remus said. "You only just got done yourself."

"Ah, whatever." Sirius, who was laying on the hearth rug in front of the fire, rolled over and lay on his back, exposing his stomach to the heat. He sighed in content before letting out a grunt. James had dropped a text book on his stomach.

"Oof! What did you do that for?"

"My bad!" James said in a poor impersonation of guilt.

He threw the book at him. "Yeah right."

James laughed. "I'm hungry, lets go eat."

They headed off and finished more quickly than either of them would have liked. Remus waved as they left for detention. "Have fun." He called.

"I bet we will." James grunted.

Madam Hooch was waiting for them in one of the school broom sheds. "Evening boys." They looked around the dim room, it smelled like mud and polish. "Quidditch tryouts will be held soon and I want all of these brooms in good shape. Roll up your sleeves and get polishing."

They picked up cleaning rags and brooms and set to work.

"Hey, when are tryouts?" James asked her.

She looked up at him from the broom she was polishing. "You want to be on the Quidditch team, do you?" He nodded and she grinned a little. "I suppose you'd have a good shot at getting on."

He looked indignant at the word suppose.

"Soon, It'll be posted in your common room." She set aside her finished broom and picked up another. "I shouldn't say this but that was a nice dive you did out there. I'm especially impressed by your pull up. You too Black, that was some fancy flying. You might just make the team. Do you have a position you play?"

James shrugged. "I play chaser a lot but I think I'd be glad to play any position."

"Well, first years don't usually make the team but you might be used as as a substitute."

James did not look happy with that idea and polished his broom handle with more force than necessary.

"Now, I'm not saying that I approve of what you two did out there. It was foolish and stupid and you could have killed yourselves but it was some great flying."

They grinned at each other. Sirius could see James's ego gaining weight behind his eyes.

There was a sudden noise as the broom shed door opened and banged shut and Madam Hooch looked up, eyes narrowed. "Who's there?" She called. There was no answer and she went to look outside the door.

"Something wrong?" James asked.

She shook her head. "Didn't see anything. Probably the wind." She returned to polishing her broom.

It was another ten minutes before anything happened. Sirius reached down for his jar of broom polish and had to stop. "Hey James, did you take my jar?" He asked, searching around the spot where he thought he'd put it.

James shook his head and shrugged. "No, I got mine right here."

"Then were did I-?" He started to look under a pile of already polished brooms when he was hit from above by a glob of polish. He let out a cry and looked up in time to be bonked on the forehead by the jar.

Madam Hooch let out an angry yell just as a loud and malicious cackle filled the shed. "Peeves!" She snarled.

"Roll call, teach? Here I am!" A small man made himself visible for a split second before knocking over a row of perfectly polished and stacked broomsticks. They fell with a loud crash and Sirius, wiping polish out of his eyes remembered Sir Nicholas complaining about a poltergeist named Peeves.

"Detention over!" Madam Hooch shouted over Peeves's cackling. She motioned her wand towards the door and it flew open. Peeves gathered up an armful of brooms and went soaring out it, laughing madly. She let out an enraged yell and ran after him, cursing as she went.

James looked at Sirius, he too was splattered with polish. "What the hell?" He asked.

Sirius rubbed the lump on his head from where the polish jar had hit him. "I have no idea. The Gryffindor ghost told me about a poltergeist one time and I think we just met him."

James nodded. "Merlin's beard." He looked around at the mess the ghost had left. "Reckon we should clean this up a bit?"

They set to work gathering up brooms and replacing them against the wall and had made a good start when Madam Hooch returned with an arm load of brooms and an exasperated look on her face. "Thank you, boys." She said, using her wand to clean up the rest of the mess. "You can go."

"How'd you get the brooms back?" James asked.

She gave him a look that said: You don't want to know.

As they started to leave she called after them to avoid the green houses. They gave each other confused looks and left her to finish cleaning by magic.

They walked back up to the castle with polish in their hair and looked up at the dark sky. It had gotten late on them. "Hope we haven't been locked out." James aid.

"Nah, they wouldn't. They knew we we out here for detention." They found the path very easily with the light of the moon. It wasn't yet full but it was getting closer.

They made it back to the dormitory and immediately headed for the showers.

Peter yawned when they got into bed. "How was detention?" He mumbled.

"Terrible. Tell you about it in the morning." James muttered.

"That bad?" Remus yawned.

"Worse."


	8. Chapter 8

Over the next week, Sirius and James noticed a slight difference in Remus. He claimed he was getting sick and they could easily believe it. He grew thinner and more agitated as the week wore on. His temper was shorter too and he was less inclined to help them with their homework. They worried, but whenever they tried asking him questions, he laughed or told them not to worry.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" James asked one day.

Sirius shrugged. "Dunno. He wouldn't say when I asked him." They were in the library doing research for a potions essay.

James frowned and tapped his fingers on the table. "He looks really pail. Do you think we should tell a teacher?"

"Well, it's kind of obvious. I mean, look at him!" And they did, they watched Remus scour the shelves for a book.

"I dunno, if he gets any worse, I'm gonna tell the nurse." James said. "Cause I really don't like the way he looks."

Sirius nodded. "I don't blame you."

Remus came back and sighed. "Took me forever to find this." He said, tossing a book down.

"What was it?" Peter asked.

"Potions book Slughorn recommended. He said it has most of the answers."

"Nice going!" James said, cheering a little too loudly and earning a sharp look from the librarian. He sank down into his seat and stayed quiet.

Remus smiled. He looked tired but alive as he sat down and Sirius found himself not worrying as much.

They studied until the library closed and it was on their way back to Gryffindor tower that Remus turned back. "Sorry, I'm not feeling well." He said. "I think I'm going to go to the hospital wing."

James frowned. "Want one of us to go with you?"

"No, I can manage. I'll see you later. Goodnight." He turned and hurried off.

"Bout time he went to the nurse." Sirius said.

James nodded. "I guess. I just wish he would tell us what's wrong with him." They returned to Gryffindor tower and waited but when Remus did not return they were forced to give up and go to bed without him.

The next morning he was still not there and Sirius found that troublesome. He looked at James and raised his eyebrows. "Should we visit him?" He asked.

James nodded. "Yeah." They hurried to climb out of bed and got dressed, Peter scampered after them.

It was still early morning when they left the common room. Most people weren't even up yet. They ran along to the hospital wing and found he doors open. As soon as she saw them, the matron came rushing forwards and backed them out of the doors. They had just enough time to make out someone sitting on the end of a bed behind a curtain before she completely blocked their view..

"What do you need?" She asked, sharply eyes searching for injury.

"Well, out friend came down here last night and we wanted to make sure he was okay." James said, trying to see over her shoulder.

"Well, there are established visiting ours, you'll have to come back later." She attempted to push them away from the door again.

"Well, can you at least tell us if he's okay?" James asked, hotly.

She looked down at them for a minute as though she was making a difficult decision and then nodded. "Mr. Lupin, I presume?" They nodded. "He's fine. He had a bit of the flue, I've fixed him up and he's resting. But he won't get any better if you all come poking about." She raised her voice slightly. "He'll be back to class before lunch."

With a final push, she closed the doors and locked them. Sirius crossed his arms. "I don't see why she wouldn't let us see him." He muttered, backing away.

James shrugged, giving the door a glare. "C'mon, lets just go to breakfast."

When they got there, the headmaster was not at the staff table but they didn't think that much of it and he came in a few minutes later, putting it from mind.

They were halfway through their charms class when Remus returned. He looked awful and sick. Sirius and James had to keep from making a sound but he smiled as he sat down with them.

"Are you okay?" James whispered.

Remus smiled. "I'm fine, just had a touch of the flue, I've been fighting it for a while now but it finally got the better of me last night." He pulled out his quill and parchment and began to copy Sirius's notes but looked up when he realized they were still staring at him. "Really, I'm fine." He said.

They spent the rest of their class watching him out of the corner of their eyes but he seemed fine. Eventually the bell rang for lunch and they departed.

No one asked any more questions and Remus made a show of good health and before long the matter was dropped. Sirius figured that he really had been sick.

James yawned and helped himself to a plate of sandwiches. "Transfiguration next." He said. "Did you guys see the flier for Quidditch tryouts this morning?"

Remus shook his head and swallowed. "Are you going to try?"

"You bet! This Saturday, you guys should come cheer me on!"

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "Okay!"

Sirius stretched and gave James a grin. "I guess I don't have anything better to do."

He was shoved. "Don't act like you're so cool."

"Don't have to act, mate."

James made a disgusted face and pretended to ignore him for the rest of lunch.

McGonagall was waiting for them in Transfiguration. They had been afraid that since their detention had ended in such a mess they would be required to make it up but she had not mentioned it. They took seats in the back and spent the class bouncing between taking notes and goofing off.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black!" McGonagall cried out sharply. "Would you please repeat what I have just said." Her lips were pressed into an angry line.

Sirius made a face, trying to think. Next to him James was doing the same. They looked at each other and shrugged. "Sorry professor, didn't catch it." James said.

Sirius grinned and tapped his ear. "Hearing's going, you know?"

She scowled. "As I can't seem to break you two apart, Mr. Lupin, would you please switch places with Mr. Black. Black, you're now partners with Mr. Petegrew."

Sirius groaned and switched seats with Remus. Peter grinned at him.

"Now, can anyone tell these two what I just said?"

Evans raised her hand. "You said that next week we'll begin working on transfiguring match sticks." She didn't sound like a know it all but Sirius was still miffed.

"Correct, Miss Evans."

McGonagall went on with her lesson and Sirius sat in his seat slouching until a note fell into his lap. He looked over and saw James flash him a thumbs up.

"Switch me back next class."

He thought it a bit excessive to write that in a note but answered with a yes, passing the note through Remus who shook his head and rolled his eyes, looking resigned.

After dinner they settled in the common room to finish homework and the topic returned to Quidditch. Saturday tryouts could not come fast enough for James and for the rest of the week, it was all he could talk about.


	9. Chapter 9

Saturday morning, Sirius was shaken awake by an already dressed James. "C'mon!" I bet if I get down there before everybody, I'll have a better chance!" He said, rocketing over to Remus's bed to shake him awake as well.

Sirius did his best to look disgusted and rolled over, pulling the blankets back over his head. "Go away." He moaned.

James continued to shake him for a good three minutes before moving back to Peter and Remus. Both of them groaned and someone yelled for him to shut up.

James was getting impatient and Sirius finally pulled himself away from the covers before they were ripped from him. He looked up mutinously. "You had better make the team!" He warned. "I'm not getting up this early just to watch you fall off your broom."

James laughed off the idea and after a hurried breakfast, during which he ate nothing and gave the others little chance to do so themselves, they rushed out onto the Quidditch pitch. Sirius, Remus and Peter took seats in the stands and sat back to watch. There were only a few other people out and most of them were older.

James stood confidently next to a group of first years, looking out of place. They were all hugging their brooms and shaking while he stood triumphantly.

The team captain gave him a look of interest and Sirius watched him whisper something to another player but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Alright!" The captain yelled, voice magically amplified. "Line up, we're going to do Keeper tryouts first."

James hung back with a group of would-be chasers, eagerly awaiting his moment to shine. To Sirius, the keeper tryouts took much too long and he was glad when they finally ended. The first and second years had been abysmal. Only three of them managed to block more than two goals. There was only one beater opening and that went quickly when a fifth year blew away the competition by repeatedly smacking a bludger into submission. The other tryouts left in disgrace, finally making way for the chasers.

Sirius sat forward in his seat to watch.

James rushed to the head of the line but only made it in third. The first was a large third year who for all his clever flying, was very clumsy and the second, was a shaky second year who didn't make it two feet off the ground before he passed out. Sirius clapped dryly for him.

James bounced up to take the unconscious second year's place. The team captain looked board and lazily threw him the quaffle, expecting much the same show but as soon as James was off he was proven wrong. James scored three goals in a row, missing the fourth but finishing off with two more before the captain blew his whistle. He pulled up next to James and the two of them talked for a moment, Sirius could just make out the captain making wild movements with his hands and laughing and he guessed they were talking about the flying lesson.

James came back to the stands afterward and they watched the tryouts finish. The fifth person to try out for chaser did better than James and he scowled. The girl scored six goals without missing a single one.

"Don't worry about it!" Sirius said. "The captain looks like he likes you."

James shrugged as though it didn't matter but sulked for a little while before heading back to the castle.

For the next few days, James was in a state of nervous chaos. He could hardly focus and Sirius caught him darting back to the common room between classes to check the notice board for results. But it was not until the following Saturday that they were posted. A list of people who made it and then the substitute players. James frowned and stared at the list. He was down as a substitute and the girl who had scored six goals had made the team.

"Cheer up, mate." Sirius said. "At least you'll probably still get a chance to play. James hung his head in disappointment and stalked off.

Remus looked up at the list. "I don't think he's going to take this well." He said.

Sirius nodded. "Hey, it's like I said at least he'll get to play. Besides, what was he expecting? First years never make the house team. He's lucky to a be a substitute"

He found James in the dormitory, lying on his bed, facing the ceiling. "You okay?" He asked, leaning against the door.

James shrugged. "Dunno, a bit disappointed."

"Oh well, you know, something could happen to that girl and she might not be able to play." He thought he would at least try and cheer James up, even if he did think his friend was overreacting.

James nodded. "Yeah, I know that. I'm just disappointed."

"I think you flew better than her."

"You think?" He didn't sound as though he was really listening.

"Yeah but I think you put too much into that throw you missed." Sirius sat down on the end of his bed. "I think if you hadn't been so excited, you would have made it."

Again, James nodded and sighed, sitting up. "Yeah, I was pretty wound up." He brushed his hair back into what he called place and adjusted his glasses. "You know, maybe it's not so bad. I'm at least still part of the team and there's the whole season ahead, something could go wrong or she could get hurt." He grinned a bit. "Thanks, mate."

"Hey, any time! I don't like seeing you bummed."

James cheered up after that and enjoyed practice, telling Sirius how he got to play as a regular during most practices. He was eagerly looking forward to the first game with a little more hope for injury than was healthy.

Their classes were going well and they had made themselves quite popular. Or at least with most of the school. There were just a few people, namely Slytherins who did not warm up to them. Among them was the boy from the train, Snape.

There was an immediate dislike between them. Sirius couldn't explain it and he didn't really care to. The boy had a strong fascination with the dark arts and it disgusted him and James felt the same way. The first real incident was when James was talking about a Quidditch practice and the boy had sniffed that he was not a real member of the team. James had turned around and made a nasty comment about him trying to ride a broom and the boy had turned red and stalked off. A couple days later there had been another incident when James had practiced a spell he'd recently learned by bewitching a wad of paper to repeatedly smack Snape in the back of his head.

Sirius thought it was funny and didn't think anything of it. It became routine and the mutual dislike increased. Besides the Slytherins, only the Evans girl seemed to have any problem with them. She scowled and huffed whenever they got too loud and she was constantly trying to throw them off Snape.

Things escalated for a while, James went out of his way to learn hexes to match Snape's. Snape knew more hexes than was decent and was quite proficient with them and for a while that had caused them problems. Sirius knew a few himself. His cousin Bellatrix had taught him a few when he was younger but hers were nasty and he was fairly sure that they fell under the category of dark magic.

That was one of the things that annoyed him, Snape was into the same kind of magic his parents were. The same kind of magic he was trying to distance himself from. He knew James had a strong distaste for dark magic too, though that was instilled by his parents. Sometimes he vaguely wondered about just how different their families were. James spoke cheerfully about his parents and Sirius found himself wishing he could meet them. They sounded like nice people. He hadn't really said anything about his own yet.

James would occasionally ask questions but avoided them and for whatever reason, James allowed him to do so and his mother's howler was never brought up.

He had never been as happy in his life. School was interesting, even if it got in the way of things he would have preferred to do He had great friends and he found himself preferring them to his family more and more. They thought like him and were kind. He was well liked at school, people thought he was funny and cool and he attracted a lot of attention.

His mind began to drift from home. He hadn't received any letters and he was going out of his way to avoid his cousins, although Andromeda gave him an occasional wave and he usually found himself returning it. Little by little, he put his parents' house at the back of his mind and focused on school and friends.

There was something freeing about that.


	10. Chapter 10

It was the Halloween feast that landed them in trouble. It wasn't planned, the opportunity just popped up and who were they to deny opportunity her pleasure?

James was psyched for the feast. He spent the day running around, half in costume, Vampire fangs and cape. McGonagall had twice told him to take them off and wipe the fake blood from his chin. James would only do so when she was around, the rest of the time he was in bloodsucker mode.

He made a habit of bothering Lily Evans, sneaking up behind her and asking to suck her blood. She did not find it funny and threatened to jinx him if he didn't stop. He finally did when she jabbed her wand in his face.

He spent the rest of the day avoiding her.

Sirius laughed it up. Most of the school was in good spirits, especially the spirits. Peeves was more than happy to give people a good scare, although his idea of a good scare was to push suits of armor over on people and laugh when they screamed. He'd also taken to hurling pumpkins at people from balconies or dropping them from ten feet above their heads. Several people were in the hospital wing because of his antics.

It was opportunity that came when Peeves cornered them in a dead end hallway. He cackled with glee and was about to throw a grinning and still burning jack o' lantern at them when Sirius was struck by a sudden idea.

"Peeves," He said. "How would you like to come to the feast?"

Peeves stopped mid throw and hovered in front of them, arms still raised. His little eyes narrowed as though he was thinking quite hard. Then he raised the pumpkin again. "Made a promise!" He said sweetly. "Promised not to interrupt dinner I did." He made to throw the pumpkin again but Sirius yelled.

"Wait, c'mon! It's a holiday, they can't keep you out on a holiday!"

Peeves hesitated again. They could almost see the nasty little gears working in his head. His eyes darted between the two of them and then he lowered the pumpkin, grinning wickedly.

Sirius smirked and glanced at James who looked both horrified and impressed. "Yeah, come give the feast a surprise." He said.

Peeves drew himself up, smiling in a nasty way, as though he had some horrible little secret. "Ooh, give the school a surprise?" He asked.

James swallowed. "Yeah! The Slytherins would love it!"

"Oh, yeah!" Sirius added, nodding furiously. "It would be the biggest surprise of the whole year! You could get everyone: students, teachers, Filch."

Peeves buzzed, evil plans concocting in his mind. He was so absorbed by his thoughts that he tossed the pumpkin against the wall, letting it smash, inches from where they stood. He soared off, cackling a little and muttering to himself.

Sirius looked at James, unsure of what they had just done. James's cape was sliding off his shoulders, he shrugged it back into place.

They hurried on to class, a little afraid of what would happen at dinner.

"What took you guys?" Peter asked when they swung into their seats, a second before the bell rang.

Sirius shrugged. "Ran into Peeves."

"And you got away?"Remus asked with raised eyebrows. "He didn't throw a pumpkin at you, did he?"

"Tried." Their explanation was cut short by Professor McGonagall marching into the room.

"Take those ridiculous things off, Mr. Potter." She said, not even looking at James as she strolled by. He took off the cape but left the fangs in.

They spent the rest of the class in quiet excitement, unable to focus on a single thing. Towards the end of class, Sirius leaned over to Remus and Peter. "Hey," He whispered. "Watch out during the feast. I think Peeves is going to do something."

Remus glanced towards McGonagall. "Why?"

"I mighta given him the idea."

Peter's eyes widened. "Why?" He squeaked.

"He was gonna smash a pumpkin on us!"

James nodded. "So, if he shows up, I say we leave."

McGonagall cleared her throat and they fell silent. Remus looked exasperated.

"What kind of idea did you give him?" He asked once the bell rang.

"Nothing much, just gave him the notion that he should show up at the feast. James here said he should aim for the Slytherins."

"Well," Peter grinned. "At least there's a chance he'll take them out."

They laughed, heading to Gryffindor tower and amused themselves with forecasts of what Peeves might do until dinner time. James thought he might turn over the staff table but Sirius thought it might be another round of pumpkins. Peter guessed maybe a fire and Remus guessed maybe even an attack on the teachers. As it turned out, Remus was closest.

By the time they arrived at the feast, most of the school was already seated and all was well. Sirius and the others settled in to eat and it wasn't long before they forgot about Peeves. They were almost finished with the main course and were just about to embark on a promising dessert when disaster struck.

There came a sudden gust of wind and something came whooshing through the doors and with that 'whoosh' came a shower of spiders, snakes and lizards. Peeves flew over the four house tables showering bugs and reptiles over the food and students. He doubled back several times to shove small lizards down the back of a girls' robes. Then he headed straight for the staff table next, arching in a graceful loop over their heads and flinging insects down on their plates and heads.

Several of them jumped to their feet and cursed. McGonagall instantly fired a spell at him but missed. Peeves flew back over the students who were now fighting for the door. He began dropping plates of food and cups down over their heads. Students cried out and pushed one another more violently.

Sirius, James, Remus and Peter all ducked under the house table and squatted down, watching people's legs pass in a frenzy of excitement. They looked at each other in shock and huddled lower.

Then there came an echoing bang and silence fell.

They froze under the table for a second. The feet had stopped and the yelling had ceased. Then Dumbledore's voice rang out through the hall.

"PEEVES!" He said. He was not yelling but his voice still carried with astounding force. Sirius and James poked heir heads out from under the table and searched for the ghost. He had pulled himself up in front of the staff table and swept off his hat.

"Evening, headmaster." He said pulling into a bow that was more insulting than anything else. "Happy Halloween."

Sirius watched Dumbledore lift and eyebrow. Professor McGonagall drew in a breath as though she was going to scream. "What do you think you are doing?" She cried.

"Why, just giving the school a trick. That's all." He gave a blinking imitation of innocence.

"How dare you!" She barked.

He buzzed excitedly. "Only following orders, ma'am."

Under the table, Sirius's blood ran cold. He and James exchanged wide eyed looks of horror.

"Who told you to do this?" McGonagall asked, voice ripe with fury.

Peeves gave a gleeful and wicked laugh and pointed to where Sirius and James's heads stuck out from under the table. "That's them, ma'am." There was a nasty glint in his eye as he pretended to wipe away a tear. "Didn't want to do it, but they insisted!They threatened poor old Peeves, said they'd do nasty things to him if he didn't wreak the feast."

His disgusting act of contrition did not make much an impression but McGonagall's eyes flared up. "Potter, Black! Get out from under there!"

They scampered up and ran to the staff table. "We didn't tell him to do this!" James yelled. "We just didn't want him to drop a pumpkin on us!"

"Then what did you tell him?" She was so angry the color had drained from her face.

"We said. . ." Sirius looked at James for help. "We said. . . we were just trying to talk him out of smashing a pumpkin over our heads! I didn't think he'd do it."

James nodded. "I didn't think he'd do anything this crazy."

"Lies, lies, lies." Peeves chortled. "Said that I could get the teachers. Told me to bother poor Mr. Filch. Poor, poor man works so hard for these students!" He wiped another sanctimonious tear from his eye. "So terrible! Wretched, wretched boys! Ought to be ashamed of themselves!"

"That's enough!" McGonagall barked. "Peeves, I want you out of here. Don't you ever let me catch you in here again." She turned on James and Sirius. "As for you two, my office. NOW!"

Sirius and James ran so fast that they reached her office before she did. She came in moments later, followed by Dumbledore. Sirius caught his eye and thought the old man almost smiled at him.

"This is. . ." McGonagall sank into her chair. "An absolute catastrophe!"

"Now, now, Minerva." Dumbledore said quietly. "We must take into perspective that no real harm was done." Sirius and James gave each other hopeful looks. "It was only bugs and lizards. In fact, I'm a little surprised at Peeves lack of creativity."

She looked at his as though he was insane. "But, professor Dumbledore, the feast was ruined."

"Yes, yes it was. Perhaps a light detention is in order. Of course, I'll leave that up to you." He inclined his head slightly. "They are your students after all." He smiled. "Well, I think Ill return to the feast. Dessert should still be safe to eat."

Sirius groaned inwardly. If they wrote his mother again, he'd probably get another howler.

"Yes." McGonagall said, taking out a quill. "Detention, both of you will get three days worth of detentions. You'll be helping Mr. Filch around the school." She gave them a sharp look. "However, not together. I don't think that would be much of a detention." She began writing and then looked up. "Well, go on! Get out." They started to leave. "Back to your common room. You can skip dessert."

They ran into Remus and Peter outside the door.

"What happened?" Peter asked anxiously. "Dumbledore said you weren't in trouble."

"We got detention." James said.

"Well that's not so bad." Remus said.

"And McGonagall won't let us eat dessert." Sirius added.

"Terrible." Remus said, shaking his head.

"Oh, shut up. Hey, bring us back some desserts, will you?" James said. 'Sneak them back!"

Peter nodded as they walked back towards their split off. "Sure!"

"You know, it was kind of funny." James said after a while.

"Yeah, well, not for that girl who got the snake shoved down the back of her robes." Sirius chuckled.

Remus smiled. "I wonder if the rest of the school noticed that it was you guys?"

"Dunno. Find out for us, will you?"

He nodded and then they split up, Remus and Peter heading for the great hall and Sirius and James for Gryffindor tower.

"It has certainty been a night." James said. "Hey, think Peeves got Snape?"

"Oh, I hope so!"

They laughed and climbed through the portrait hole. They had the common room to themselves.

"They better hurry up with those desserts!" James said, sinking into one of the best chairs by the fire. "I didn't get to eat that much."

"You ate three servings." Sirius corrected.

James waved him off. "I'm a growing boy!"

"Yeah, full of shit and still growing."

They laughed and stretched out in front of the fire. A moment later, Peter and Remus came climbing through the portrait hole with a plate of cakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember being really excited to posted this chapter and hope you all enjoyed! Detention next!


	11. Chapter 11

As it turned out, very few people actually knew the true cause of the Halloween feast disaster. Most chalked it up to Peeves being Peeves and didn't want to think about it. Unfortunately, there were a select few who had stuck around long enough to find out and unfortunately, Severus Snape was one of them.

"I suppose you think that was really funny." He said, cornering them one day after potions.

"Well," James said, picking up his book bag. "now that I think about it, yeah. It was pretty funny. Don't you think so, Sirius?"

"Absolutely, best laugh I've had in a long time." He paused, glancing at Snape. "'Till I saw your face, that is."

James crossed his arms. "Now there is absolutely nothing funny about his face!" He said, scolding. "Why, I think it's the most unfunny thing I've ever seen. In fact, I would say it's unfortunate."

Sirius rubbed his chin, pretending to think. "I suppose you're right." He said. "It is pretty bad."

"Exactly! You shouldn't laugh at other people's misfortune, it's just bad manners!"

"Oh, and you know so much about manners, don't you, James Potter." A voice said.

"Ah, Mummys' arrived!" Sirius cut in dryly, interrupting Lilly Evans.

She glared at them. "Don't even bother talking to them, Sev. They're idiots."

They turned and stalked away.

"Aaand. . . momma bear strikes again!" Sirius yelled after them. Lily turned and gave him a nasty look.

"You know. . . maybe you shouldn't pick on him as much." Remus said, carefully placing his books into his bag without looking up.

James gave him a raised eyebrow. "What are you. . . friends with him or something?"

Remus met their eyes and sighed. "Oh, never mind." He said.

They headed on to their next class, ignoring the comment.

Professor Hartly gave them all a smile as they entered the room. He'd been looking pail since the feast disaster and most of the school thought it had to do with the lizard he'd accidentally swallowed. He launched into an enthusiastic lesson that was punctuated when he had to run and throw up.

"I have detention tonight." Sirius said dully, watching Hartly run out of the room with his hand over his mouth.

"Me too." James grunted, twisting in his seat to watch Hartly dart around the corner. "McGonagall said I'd be in the hospital wing."

"Ha. I only have to be in the trophy room." Sirius said.

"Do you think Hartly will be alright?" Remus asked, watching two students run after the teacher.

"Who cares. We have detention." James said glumly. "Second one and it's not even Christmas."

A little while later, Hartly returned and class resumed.

After dinner, they were split up. James had to go and help Madam Pomfry clean the hospital wing, under her close supervision and Sirius had to polish in the trophy room. Under Filch's even closer supervision.

He supposed that it could have been worse. He could have been tortured somewhere but anything less than that would be pushing it. Filch was bound and determined to punish him for the Halloween feast.

He spent most of the detention muttering about how nasty the students were and of how they went out of their way to undo his hard work. He gave Sirius a very vivid account of what would happen to troublemakers if he ever got his say.

"I'll have them screaming." He said with glee.

"Right." Sirius said, polishing a large gold cup with as little effort as he could muster.

"That'll teach 'em! They'll think twice about tracking mud in and throwing their trash all over the place."

"Absolutely right. Nasty brats." Sirius said, boardly.

"You know, smart mouths like you are half the problem!"

"Exactly! We should be punished. I'm so ashamed of my behavior, I can't stand it. But you know, I keep getting away with it and I never learn."

Behind him, Sirius could feel Filch's anger radiating towards him. "Apparently you don't think one week of detention is enough!" Filch spat.

"No, it's not! I was wrong. Clap me in irons!"

It had been going like that most of the evening, with Filch being put in an increasingly bad mood. Sirius didn't know where the comments were coming from but he couldn't stop them. Nor did he make much of an effort to.

"You're the problem. Students like you. Running around like you own the place. Like little lords of the castle. Never a mind for those who have to clean it!"

"I'm so contrite."

"Little smart asses like you, like I don't have enough work already!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and yawned. The detention could not end soon enough. Filch embarked on another long crusade of solutions to his student problem.

At close to eleven, he was let go. He met up with James on the way back.

"Ugh. Filch was a nightmare!" He groaned.

"You think you got it bad? Madam Pomfry had me making all of the beds by hand! My own mother doesn't do that by hand! Then she made me clean the chamberpots! By hand!"

"Filch wouldn't shut up! He kept going on and on about how bad we all are."

They wandered back to bed, each complaining bitterly about their detention. The next day's went much the same and so did the next. Filch seemed to be running out of things for them to do.

After one detention, where James had been with Filch and Sirius was helping Professor Sprout in the greenhouses, James came running up to him, excited and out of breath.

"Follow me!" James panted, an excited gleam in his eye. He grabbed Sirius by his arm and dragged him off.

"What-?" Sirius cried, tripping as he was dragged along. "What's wrong?"

"You'll never believe what I've found!" James said, whipping him around a corner. "You'll never believe it! Filch just let me in!"

"What is it?"

They stopped right by a large portrait of a bowl of fruit. "Watch this!" James said, reaching up and tickling a pear.

Sirius watched in amazement as the pear turned into a doorknob. "Where are you taking me?" He laughed.

James stood back proudly and waved a hand to motion him inward. Sirius ducked through the door and looked around. James had found the kitchens.

"How did you find these?" He asked, impressed.

"Filch had to come down here and chase Peeves off." James said, ducking inside. "You'll never guess what works in here."

Sirius raised an eyebrow just in time to see a dozen House Elves come scuttling up. He paused, looking down at them. They peered up with big smiles.

"Excuse us!" One of them squeaked, bowing. "Can we get you something?"

James looked as though he had just made the discovery of a lifetime. Sirius was less impressed. His own family's House Elf was less than friendly.

The Elf that had first spoken stood waiting. "We have lots of sandwiches!" He said, eagerly. Two seconds later an Elf came running up with a huge platter. James picked one up. "Thanks." He said.

Sirius took one himself and sat back on a counter. Instantly another two elves came over with a stool for him. "Oh, thanks."

"We don't have many students come visiting." An elf squeaked cheerfully.

James laughed. "Oh? Well, you've got a nice place here. I'm impressed." They all beamed and Sirius, despite his own personal experience with House Elves, found himself liking them.

"Yeah, real nice." He said. "Thanks for the sandwich."

They continued to smile as though they had just been given the greatest compliment in the world.

"Hey, do you think we could have some cakes to bring to our friends?" James asked. At his words, a plate was brought forward piled with small cakes. "Thanks!" He said, scooping it up.

The Elves bowed them out and waved until the door was closed.

James grinned as they made their way back to Gryffindor tower. "Haha, I think this is my best find yet!" He said, balancing the place in the air.

Sirius put his hands in his pockets and grinned. "You're gonna get fat."

"And I'm going to enjoy doing so." They laughed and climbed through the portrait hole, finding Peter and Remus waiting.

"Where did you get those?" Peter asked.

"Found the kitchens!" James said proudly. "You wouldn't believe it! All those Elves, and they were just dying to give away food." He helped himself to a cake.

Remus took one. "Really. You know, I wondered where the food came from."

"My family doesn't have a House Elf." James said. "Mum says that hard work is best. Any of you have one?"

Peter and Remus shook their heads but Sirius nodded.

"Really? What's he like?"

"Nasty. I can't stand him. He's always creeping around and giving me dirty looks. He loves the rest of my family, though." Sirius shrugged.

James made a face. "Sounds like a creep."

"Yeah. You should see him, he just loves my brother."

"I didn't know you had a brother." Remus said mildly.

Sirius paused, not sure what to tell them. He didn't want them knowing a whole lot about his family but at the same time, he was beginning to think that James wouldn't hold it against him. "Oh, yeah I have a younger brother, you'll probably meet him next year. He'll be coming to Hogwarts."

"Think he'll be in Gryffindor?" Peter asked.

Sirius gave a dark laugh. "No."

"I sort of wish I had a brother or something." James said, staring off into space. "Might be kind of nice."

"Not as nice as you'd think." Sirius muttered. He felt bad for saying it. He didn't really hate his brother. He just didn't like him.

James gave a shrug and sat back in his arm chair, slouching quite regally. "If you say so."

Remus laughed a bit and took another cake. "You'll have to show me the kitchens sometime." He said.

"Me too!" Peter piped up.

Sirius groaned. "Peter, you just want to eat more."

Peter flushed and stayed quiet but James let out a loud laugh.


	12. Chapter 12

Their week of detention finished rather quickly but they hardly noticed. They had too much homework and they'd let it sit because of the detention and were now drastically behind. Remus gave them a little help although he too was behind.

By the end of the week they'd managed to put aside most of the hard work. James and Sirius had both managed to perfect Flitwick's levitation spell and put it to good use, making things fall from the air over other students heads.

It was only a few days after their last detention that Remus disappeared for three days. When he came back he apologized repeatedly, saying his mother had been sick and he'd had to go home.

"I worry about him, you know?" James said one day after lunch.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. I know what you mean." Sirius said, grabbing up his bag. "First he was sick and now his mother."

James shook his head. "I hope she's okay."

They nodded but stopped their conversation as soon as Remus caught up with them.

It was in November that James got his first moment to shine. He had been suffering in his position as substitute on the house Quidditch team. And despite his high hopes, no injury had yet put him in the game.

It came in the second game of November. Gryffindor was playing Huffelpuff and ten minutes into the game, one of the Gryffindor chasers was hit on the back of the head by a bludger and knocked unconscious. With more joy than he should have had, James jumped at the chance.

In the stands, Sirius and the others leaped to their feet and cheered him on. Sirius had not had a chance to see James in action. James talked constantly about flying and Quidditch and practice and Sirius had allowed him to do so, ignoring most of what he said. Now he was impressed.

James shot off like a bullet and swooped in under a Huffelpuff player, making the boy jerk upwards. The boy promptly dropped the quaffle.

James scored two goals in quick succession, earning loud approval from the Gryffindor stands. Sirius thought he was acting a bit like an idiot. He was showing off far more than necessary but it worked and as he passed the quaffle to another chaser, a third goal was scored.

From his place in the stands, Sirius spotted the Huffelpuff seeker making a sharp dive and punched Remus to get his attention. "Look!" He yelled, snatching Peter's binoculars. "Why the hell isn't our seeker doing anything? Stupid git. Hey, Move!"

A second later the Gryffindor seeker followed after the Huffelpuff one and the two of them drew into a race. James took the time to score another goal which distracted both seekers and the snitch was lost.

Sirius sat back in his seat and pouted, allowing Peter to reclaim his binoculars. Five more goals were scored, two by Huffelpuff and three by Gryffindor. James was really proving himself. Again the seekers made a dive but this time one of them smacked into the ground in a yellow blur and the Gryffindor one drew up with the snitch.

Sirius cheered along with the rest of the house before breaking into laughter. James was doing victory loops above the stands.

"That was great!" Remus yelled, clapping.

"He was amazing!" Peter cheered, face red from yelling.

They rushed down the stands to meet him but had to wait. James was so ecstatic that it took several minutes for him to come down. Sirius yelled for him and had to jump back when James intentionally made to land where he had been standing.

"You were amazing!" Peter squeaked.

James beamed.

"Well done." Remus applauded.

Sirius clapped him on his back and lead him up to the changing room. "Great job, mate. Meet you in the common room."

James nodded, looking happy and dazed and then disappeared into the changing room.

"That was really great." Remus said as they headed back to Gryffindor tower. "I'm impressed, I thought he was mostly talk."

Sirius took a detour. "Hey, lets stop and get some victory cakes." He lead them towards the kitchens.

"Hey!" He said, sticking his head through the door.

A house elf came and greeted him. "Mr. Black!" He said cheerfully. "Welcome back sir!" He bowed and so did and the few others that had come to join him.

"Hey, my friends and I were wondering if we could have some food to take back our house. We just won a Quidditch game."

The elves cheered. "Congratulations!" They cried, running and getting the food. Sirius made sure to load Remus and Peter up with as much as they could carry before loading up himself. They backed out of the kitchens, thanking the elves and trying to stop them from giving anymore food.

Half way back to the common room they ran into Professor McGonagall. She gave them a raised eyebrow and shook her head. "Mind you don't drop anything." She said. "Mr. Filch won't be very please if you make a mess." She took a few steps and then stopped again. "Oh, and give Mr. Potter my compliments. That was some very fine flying."

Sirius grinned, surprised. "She must be a good mood." He said.

They and their food were well received. James was seated like a king by the fire, soaking up the attention. He was grinning from ear to ear like it was his birthday.

"Nice!" Some one said, scooping up a plate of cakes and setting them on a table.

Sirius pushed his way over to James and gave him a high five. "Great game, mate!" He said.

James nodded, running a hand through his hair excitedly. "And guess what? They said I'm gonna be playing next game too!"

"Great!" Sirius took a seat next to him and picked up a small cake, examining it closely for faults before digging in.

Peter was glowing. He looked thrilled. "You were so great!" He said. "You were amazing! You were fantastic!"

"Better be careful. I think Peter may fancy you." Sirius whispered. "He's practically drooling.

James laughed. "I don't blame him. I am pretty great."

They broke out laughing again, despite Sirius's attempts to show his disgust and it was pretty disgusting. He didn't think anybody should be allowed to be so please with themselves. He relaxed back into his seat and watched as the rest of the Gryffindors came in from the stands. A loud din filled the common room, people were talking loudly and shouting to be heard. They had beaten Huffelpuff so thoroughly and James' flying had been so phenomenal that no one could settle down.

Towards the end of the night, professor McGonagall came in and told them sternly to go to bed. She gave James an approving look and stopped by his throne.

"That was an excellent game." She said. "I'm impressed, we should have put you on the team earlier." She caught herself. "Not that I hope Mr. Whitting wont be back to playing soon." She paused, giving him a smile. "But I do hope I get to see you play more."

James grinned. "Thanks!"

She swept off and Sirius broke out laughing.

"Oh shut up!" James snapped, laughing himself.

Whitting was the chaser who had been brained by the bludger, he was currently in the hospital wing trying to regain consciousness. Sirius half expected to have to stop James from securing his place on the team. He wouldn't put it past him.

They headed up to bed, still wound up.

James sat up in bed, still grinning. "Ah," He sighed. "I feel good."

Sirius climbed into his own bed and glanced at him. "Well, you did great. You should be glad."

"Thanks." James lay back but when Sirius finally drifted off, he noticed his eyes were still open.


	13. Chapter 13

When the Christmas holidays began to draw close, Sirius was faced with a problem. James was heading home and he. . . well, he was planning on staying.

That was made difficult when he received a letter.

'Sirius, your father and I will be expecting you home for the holidays. We will pick you up from the train station promptly after your arrival. When you return home, we will discuss your behavior and the students you have been associating yourself with. Do not attempt to avoid coming home, I have already written the school, notifying them that you will not be staying for the winter holidays"

The note was short and to the point. Sirius folded it up and sighed, angrily.

"What's wrong?" James asked.

"Nothing." He folded his arms and rested his head on the breakfast table, staring into the darkness his arms created. "I hate everything." He muttered. Christmas break was two weeks away. He looked up at James and the others who were talking cheerfully and swallowed. Whatever would happen, he would think about it when it came.

He sighed again and lifted his head.

"You sure you're okay?" James asked again.

"Yeah, just didn't get a lot of sleep."

James left him alone, although he guessed that he didn't buy it. During the morning's potions class, he tried to put the looming break that he had been so looking forward to from his mind. He managed to do so pretty well. Slughorn was assigning more and more complicated potions and they took a great deal of concentration.

They came away with a relatively well brewed potion, despite the distraction and most of the days up to the last were the same. On the day before the semester ended, Sirius was in a slump. He had all of his things packed and sat on his bed, dreading the next day when he would return home for the holidays. James was finishing his packing and looked up.

"Are you okay, man?" He asked. "You've been bummed for weeks."

Sirius shrugged, lying back on his bed and glared up at his canopy, feeling listless.

"You know, you don't have to tell me anything but I'm not stupid. I can figure stuff out. I know you don't wanna go home but at least it won't be for that long."

Sirius looked up at him, a little surprised.

"I don't really know why you don't want to go home, you haven't told me and you don't have to, but I still hate seeing you bummed like this."

"Sorry." He felt bad and he didn't know why. He didn't want James to know, he didn't want him to think he was like the rest of his family.

The next day they boarded the train together with Remus and Peter. Remus was looking sick again and Sirius worried about him a little. He never looked that healthy and it seemed like almost every month he had to go home and see his sick mother.

They maintained their bright spirits on the train. The train was relatively empty. Few people seemed to be returning home. James woefully mourned that it might not have been cool to do so. They spent the ride playing exploding snap and talking loudly about Quidditch. When the train rolled into platform nine and three quarters, Sirius's happy mood evaporated almost instantly. He could see his father standing on the platform through the window.

James struck up a Christmas carol and with a sigh, Sirius joined him. He knew he was already in trouble, but he was in public and his parents could do nothing to stop him in public.

They exited the train, singing loudly and dragging their trunks along behind them. A few people laughed and some even joined in and James beamed in the attention and Sirius found himself doing the same.

"Hey, come meet my parents!" James said, cutting song and dragging him over to where a couple stood.

The woman hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas!" She said.

Sirius stood back and waited for her to be done. Both of James's parents were older. He looked them over. They looked like kind people. Mrs. Potter stopped hugging her son and let him go. She smiled at Sirius. "And who's this?" She asked. "Are we having company?"

He fumbled. "Oh, no ma'am. I'm not. . . my parents are here to pick me up."

James grabbed his arm. "This is Sirius." He said.

Sirius shook Mr. Potter's hand. "Nice to meet you, Sirius. Are your parents around?"

Sirius paused, not wanting James to meet his father. "Er. . . no. I haven't found them yet."

"Ah, well. I hope I'll get to meet them," He liked the way James's father had gentle eyes. Thy looked like the sort older people had, sort of amused by the world. "What's your name again?"

Sirius hesitated. "Black, sir."

Mr. Potter raised an eyebrow but smiled. And shook his hand again. "Pleasure to meet you."

Sirius gave him a tentative smile. "Yeah, same." James began to talk animatedly and he found himself being roped into it. Mr and Mrs. Potter nodded and listened, asking questions and laughing. They didn't seem at all like the judging type. Eventually though, he saw his father out of the corner of his eye and had to excuse himself.

"Hey, nice meeting you but I have to go look for my dad. He's probably here already." He gave James a rough slap on the shoulder and nodded to the Potters. "Bye."

James grinned. "See ya." He and his parents turned a left and for a moment, Sirius wished he was going with them but then he remembered his father and turned to find him only a short distance away. He was watching him.

"Hey." He said, dragging himself up to his father.

Mr. Black made a face. "Afternoon, do you have everything or do you want to take another twenty minutes to talk to someone?"

Sirius flushed. "I'm good, thanks"His father steered him by his shoulder, fingers almost hurting. He had the strong impression that he had only dug himself deeper. They pulled away from the crowd and promptly disappearated.

His feet hit the street and he was outside number twelve Grimmauld Place. He wobbled for a second, side-along apparition taking it's toll before his father hurried him on, stopping him outside of the door.

"You're in a lot of trouble." Mr. Black said. "Your mother and I are going to have a long talk with you."

Sirius glared up at his father. He was a little afraid. He didn't know what they would do to him but it worried him. The door opened and he had to force himself to step inside. Instantly it was ten times darker and gloomier. Familiar as it was, he wished he was somewhere else. He hated it. His mother stood at the end of the hall waiting. She had her arms crossed and his face was tight and pinched with anger. With a flick of her wand his trunk shot up the stares to his room and with another flick, the doors to the drawling room shot open.

"In." She said.

He caught a brief glimpse of his younger brother at the top of the stares before the doors were snapped shut after him. He was pushed into a chair and both of his parents stood over him.

"I can't believe your behavior!" His mother said. She was an unattractive shade of white and she was shaking. "Can you imagine the shame your father and I have had to endure, hearing about your actions?"

Mr. Black gave her her moment to speak before taking up his. "I thought the behavior at school was bad enough but then at the platform I see you making a complete fool of yourself!"

His wife turned to him in outrage. "What was he doing?"

Mr. Black waved a hand. "He was singing Christmas carols with a friend." His eyes flashed. "That's another thing. I saw you talking to that Potter family and you came off of the train with their son. Didn't we expressly forbid you from hanging around with that kind of a family?"

Sirius felt a muscle in his neck jump. "He's my fiend!" He said, half shouting, his parents were far too close to his face.

"His whole family is made up of blood traitors! Do you want to associate yourself with those kinds of people? Do you want that kind of a reputation?"

Mrs. Black made a noise of anger. "I told you to stop playing around with that filthy blood traitor!" She yelled.

"Stop calling him that!" Sirius yelled back, jumping to his feet. His father shoved him back into the chair.

"Stay seated! You're going back to school after the Christmas Holidays and when you do, you are going to amend your behavior. You will stop talking to the Potter boy and your other little friends, you will behave yourself and stay out of trouble." Sirius made to get up again but was shoved back a second time. "I mean it! You've brought nothing but trouble and embarrassment since you started school."

Sirius fought to get up and pushed past his parents to the other side of the room. "Drop It! I haven't done anything that bad even!"

His mother swelled with anger and was about to say something more when he turned and ran from the room. Running was probably a bad decision but he didn't care. He darted up the stares to his room and shut himself in. below he could hear his mother gave a loud shriek of outrage.

He stomped to his bed and sat down but his blood was too hot and he found himself pacing back and forth across the room. He was so angry. He kicked at the bed and then at his dresser and suddenly he was disgusted with the green of the room. His parents' taste. He was disgusted by the serpents that decorated the furniture and the obvious Slythering coloring of the room.

He walked to his trunk and kicked it open, rooting through it until he found a Gryffindor banner. He hung it over the closet door. It stood out against the bland colors. He glanced at the drapes and wished they were another color. Maybe if he set fire to them, his mother would have to buy new ones. He toyed with the idea briefly in his mind before setting it aside for last resorts. If only he was allowed to do magic.

He sighed and sat back on the bed, glaring around the room. He wished he was back at school. He had only caught a glimpse of the decorations that were going up but they had been fantastic.

There was a knock on his door and he waited to see if it was one of his parents. There was silence and then another knock. "I know you're not asleep, I can hear you stomping around." It was his brother.

He sighed and dragged himself to the door. "What do you want?" He asked, not opening it.

There was a pause. "I just wanted to say hi." Regulus sounded a bit annoyed and he wondered what in the world he had to be annoyed about.

He heaved a final sigh and opened the door. His brother stood just outside, leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed. "Hey." He said.

Regulus looked him over and raised an eyebrow. "You need a hair cut." He said.

Sirius picked at his hair. "I'm growing it out."

"What, like one of those muggle rock bands you like?" There was contempt in his younger brother's voice and he had to wonder just what his parents had been saying about him in his absence.

"Yeah, something like that."

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Want to come help me decorate the tree? Dad just brought it home yesterday. You can tell me about Hogwarts."

Sirius hesitated and then shrugged, not seeing any point in not doing so. He wouldn't give his parents the satisfaction of keeping him in his room all holiday. They weren't worth that.


	14. Chapter 14

He managed to get through decorating the tree without any major problems. He was decent to his brother, he told him about Quidditch and of James's amazing victory over Huffelpuff and of the Halloween feast disaster. Regulus liked that and said that he would probably try out for his house team when he got to Hogwarts.

Sirius was glad that there was at least one person in the house who had not started yelling at him as soon as he had gotten home.

Half way through, the family house elf Kreacher had come slinking in with a box of ornaments. He looked at Sirius with great dislike and shook his head. "Shaming his family by playing around with blood traitors." He muttered, his eyes darting over Sirius's face looking for a reaction.

Sirius frowned. The elf had never really liked him, although he couldn't say he liked the elf all that much either. "Why don't you shut up?" He growled.

Regulus shot him an angry look. "Be nice." He said. "You have been causing a lot of trouble."

Sirius scowled, refraining from pointing out that the elf had started it.

"Thanks, Kreacher." Regulus said, taking the box.

Sirius sank onto the couch and shifted, trying to get comfortable. His parents might have picked nice looking furniture but it was far from comfortable. He sat back and watched his brother decorate. The ornaments and bobbles were all green and silver, he hadn't really thought about it before but he didn't like them. They were so old and fragile that despite the House Elf's best efforts to polish them up, their age could be seen.

"What's the point," He wondered. "To keep something that's in such bad condition just because it belonged to some dead person you're related to?" He yawned. "Get mum or dad to fix the ornaments with magic." He said. "They're looking dull."

Regulus nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He frowned for a minute and then sighed. "Sirius, do you like making them angry?"

He looked up. "What do you mean?"

Regulus took a deep breath. "It's like you don't even try to get along with mum and dad."

He narrowed his eyes. "Says who? I try all the time and it's their fault. Just because we disagree on some things, they act like I'm the bane of their existence."

"Oh, don't even try that! You know you don't try. You practically go out of your way to make them angry. You haven't even been at Hogwarts five months and you've already gotten in trouble and then you come home and you won't apologize or admit that you did something wrong."

Sirius scoffed. "Why are you worried? It's not you they're mad at."

"Well I have to listen to them. I hear all the bad stuff you get up to and you upset them and you keep doing things that make them ashamed of you. Mum was tearing out her hair when she found out about the feast you messed up."

Sirius glared into the fire. "Oh, she's fine. It wasn't even that bad."

"You still got detention and how would you like it if you got a letter saying your son had ruined a holiday feast?"

Sirius laughed. "I think I'd find it funny."

Regulus scowled. "Well, you might but mum and dad didn't."

"Whatever." Sirius got up and walked to the door. "I don't really care."

He left and returned to his room where he stared around and sighed. Who was Regulus to give him a lecture? He thought bitterly. Let his mother tear her hair out. She'd probably look better bald. He walked to his trunk and began to look through it again, he had left most of his things at school, two weeks wasn't long enough to pack everything. He found his wand and sat it on his dresser. He felt limited, not being able to do magic.

He walked to the window and looked out. He could see into the back yard. It was small and white under the snow. Feeling trapped, he paced around the room before giving up and grabbing a coat. He headed out the front door, ignoring his brother when he asked where he was going.

He set off down the street, not paying attention to the snow that was soaking through his pants. He turned a corner and found the park. It was empty but that was okay with him, he sat on the swing and gazed around at the snow, he wished he had his friends with him. He played with possible gift ideas for them. He wondered if they would send him anything, he thought James might. Before they had left, James had been giving hints that he had some really great presents planned.

He grinned at the thought.

"Hey," Someone called. He looked up. It was one of the older boys he had met over the summer. He waved as the boy came up.  
"Hey." He said back.

The boy grinned and sat down next to him. "What's up?" He asked. "Aren't you cold?"

Sirius shrugged. "Not really."

The boy's hair had grown even wilder since the summer and he had the vague idea that it was what James's would look like if he ever stopped cutting it. "Off school for the holidays?" The boy asked.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"Haha, heck no! I dropped out. Made my mum cry but I told her it was something I had to do." He kicked some snow up as he swung. "So now me and some mates are live in the house over there." He pointed, grinning. "You met some of them last year but there are some new faces and a few of the old one's have moved on."

Sirius grinned a little. "That's neat."

"Yeah, yeah it's pretty nice, you still listening to Godless rock'n'roll?"

"Haven't had much chance at school."

"Ah, yeah that was a problem I had with school. Teacher took my records." The boy shook his head regretfully. "Never did get them back but I suppose that mighta had something to do with me being a troublemaker and all."

Sirius laughed. "Me too."

"You get in a lot of trouble?"

"I seem to. I don't go looking for it but it always seems to find me."

The boy laughed too and shivered. "I know that feeling. Hey can we go sit in the car? I'm freezing my ass off, I'll play you the radio."

Sirius shrugged, curious to see a car up close. They got up and hurried to the boy's car. Sirius looked it over. It was pretty neat, he thought, though he knew it was nothing compared to apparition.

The boy turned on the heater and radio and the car filled with sound. Sirius picked up a magazine that was lying on the back seat. How weird. He thought. The pictures don't move. "What's this? He asked, pointing to an add.

The boy grinned. "You don't know what that is? That's a motorcycle. Nice bike too. I've been thinking of investing in one. My mum would die if she knew."

"How come?" He asked, flipping a few pages.

"Fast, dangerous things. They can flip, the wheel can go out from under you, you never know. But damn if they aren't the ride of a lifetime! My friends' got one and he loves it. You practically have to knock him out before he'll let you take it for a spin."

Sirius thought it sounded a bit like a broom. "Are some motorcycles faster than others?" He asked.

"Well sure, depends on what engine you have in it."

He tried to understand but it was all very foreign to him. "Hmm."

"You could ask him some time this summer if he'll take you for a ride. If he's still around, that is."

"Sure, that sounds cool."

Great." The boys turned up the radio. "You know, you're a pretty happening kid."

Sirius grinned and sat back to listen. He wondered with some satisfaction, how angry his mother would be if she could have seen him. "What song is this?"

"Back Dog. You telling me you don't know Zeppelin?"

"No, my mum doesn't like this kind of music."

"Haha, mine neither."

They listened for a while before Sirius checked the time. "I gotta go," He said. "Thanks for letting me listen."

"Any time, man." The boy said as he climbed out of the car.

He made it back to his house with the soul intent of fixing his radio to play muggle rock and roll again.

His parents hadn't even noticed he was out of the house and he spent the rest of the evening until dinner in his room with the radio on.

At dinner he stayed silent, despite the fact that everything his parents said made him want to scream. They were talking about the disappearances that had started to pop up. Naturally, since it was mostly muggle-borns and blood traitors who were disappearing, they were all for it. It made him furious.

His mother spoke with high handed satisfaction when she told of a family who had disappeared. He thought it was odd, they just up and disappeared, not a trace of them left save their house and belongings. Regulus listened with a rapt attention and it made Sirius sick. His brother was drinking in everything his parents said. He was glad they didn't ask his opinion because he was sure that if they did he would not be able to stop his mouth from running.

Eventually the conversation turned to him and it seemed that with some great about of self control his father was keeping the matter as far from Sirius's house and extracurricular activities as possible.

"How are your classes going?" His father asked.

Sirius shrugged and cut his meet. "Fine. They're all pretty easy."

"Sit up straight." His mother snapped before carrying on the conversation. "Well that's good. Have you seen much of your cousins?"

He decided to play it safe rather than tell her he went out of his way to avoid them. "Sure, I see them around but we don't talk much. You know, they have all of their older friends."

"You should make more of an effort." His father said offhandedly.

"Yes, you should make an effort." His mother added. She gave him a dark look that said she knew just what he had been doing at school.

He ignored her but couldn't help but give her a look of contempt.

The rest of the dinner was carried out in silence and Sirius darted back up to his room as quickly as he could.

He could hardly believe he'd made it through dinner without shooting his mouth off. He lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, home was the last place he wanted to be but it was only two weeks and he could manage that.


	15. Chapter 15

He spent the days leading up to Christmas in self imposed isolation. He locked himself in his room with his radio and passed the time by playing cards and looking up ways to change the appearance of his room. He'd ordered two Gryffindor banners and had sent a few letters. Remus had sent the first letter and they'd sent a few back and forth. He'd used Remus's owl to contact James but James hadn't written back.

Early on, his mother had yelled at him to turn down the radio, he guessed she hadn't realized that it was muggle music playing because she would have been worse if she had. Eventually she had given up and placed a muffling charm on the door. He supposed that was for the best.

It was two days before Christmas when he received an answer from James. James had sent him a letter with a mall package. He read over the letter.

"Merry Christmas! Thanks for your letter, if you hadn't sent it I don't know how I would have gotten you your present. DON'T open it before Christmas! So, my holidays have been pretty decent, boring actually. How have yours been? I was thinking that we should stay at Hogwarts next year and see how that compares. What do you think? Anyway, I got Remus and Peter their presents, so I'm waiting for mine! See you soon, James."

Sirius folded up the letter. He'd ordered James's present out of a magazine, it was a small broom kit, James's parents had sent his broom to the school not long after the game he'd played. He'd ordered the kit to be sent to James's house and hoped it wold get there before Christmas.

He spent the days by himself, doing everything humanly possible to avoid his family. This wasn't very difficult though, his family didn't seem very keen on drawling him out of his room and for most of the break, they avoided him too.

When Christmas came he was forced to go down to the drawling room. His mother was waiting. She was already dressed despite the early hour. He thought it was ridiculous that she needed to look her best even around family. He sat on the couch and waited for Regulus. There were several presents under the tree, obviously his parents hadn't reached the point of excluding him from holidays.

"Can I just open mine already?" He asked.

"Not until your brother gets here." His mother snapped. "And stop slouching."

He leaned back on the sofa and crossed his arms, wishing his brother would hurry up.

Regulus came down the stares fully dressed. "Sorry." He said. Mrs. Black smiled at him and brushed a hand over the top of his head.

Sirius watched carefully, glowering at the way his brother lapped up the attention.

Their father smiled evenly. "Go ahead, boys." He said, retrieving his wife's gift and handing it to her. Sirius waited for Regulus to toss him his. He tore off the paper and looked it over. His father had given him a watch with the family crest engraved onto the top. He looked at it blandly.

"Well, open it." Mr. Black said, sounding offended that Sirius had not already done so.

He flicked it open and looked over the face of the watch. It must have been expensive but he didn't find it that appealing. He thanked his father and watched his brother unwrap a new broom. Their mother petted his head affectionately. Sirius made a face and reached for a second present. His uncle Alphard had sent him a rather large box. He opened it expecting something decent, his uncle had always liked him. He wasn't disappointed it was a small bag of gold and an enchanted record player, along with several new records. Sirius recognized several as big name wizarding bands.

"That's the last thing you need." He mother said with humorless distaste.

Sirius shrugged and looked over the albums. He grinned and excused himself to go and put the player in his room. He set it on the dresser by his bed and moved the radio to another table.

He paused to open James's present but was a little disappointed, it was just a square mirror. He shrugged and tossed it on the bed. James had probably worked him up on purpose just to mess with him.

He went back down stares to find his family still in the drawling room, Kreacher was cleaning up the wrapping paper and his mother was just moving off to find breakfast. He stood in the doorway and watched his father and brother talk for a minute, they were in god spirits and he didn't feel like ruining it. He headed back up to his room and went back to sleep.

When he awoke, it was because the mirror was digging into his side. He turned over and made to throw it to the end of the bed but stopped. There was something moving in the mirror. Something that he was pretty sure wasn't in his room. "What the. . ." He stopped when the image came into focus and he found himself staring at James. He made to throw the mirror again in shock but stopped. James was grinning and waving.

"What?" He asked again, bringing the mirror up to look at it more closely. James made a face. He raised an eyebrow. "Can I talk into this thing?"

"Sure can!" James voice came out quiet and distant and small sounding.

"Where did you get this?"

James laughed. "Dad bought it for me a while back, I thought you and I could use it. It's quicker than owls."

Sirius grinned. "You should have told me what it did in the letter!"

"I wanted to surprise you!"

"Nice."

"So hows your Christmas? Get anything?"

"Yeah, I got a music player. My uncle sent it and an ugly watch from my dad."

James laughed again. "Haha, I got something great, I can't wait to show you! It's so cool! I'll show you at school!"

Sirius rocked closer to the mirror. "Don't be a prat, what is it!"

"Just wait, it's so cool!"

If he could have, Sirius would have reached through the mirror and choked him. "I'm gonna get you for this."

Their laughing was cut short by his mother's screams ripping the air. "Sirius, get down here! Your cousins have come for a visit!" She shrieked up the stairs.

Sirius groaned and looked down at the mirror. James had evidently heard her because his eyebrow was raised. "I gotta go, see ya."

James waved and disappeared.

Of all the things that could have happened to ruin his Christmas, Sirius definitely considered this the worst. He rolled out of bed and dragged himself to the stairs. He could hear people below. He lagged on the stairs, dreading the guests.

On reaching the foot of the stares, the first person he saw was Andromeda. She smiled and handed him a small package. "Happy Christmas." She said. He nodded.

"Oh for heaven's sake! If you're not going to cut your hair, you could at least comb it." His mother grumbled, giving him an angry look. "Come and greet your cousins."

He looked up at his two remaining cousins. Narcissa and her lovely sister Bellatrix. He smiled at them, careful to show his displeasure at their company. Narcissa merely acknowledged him but Bellatrix gave him a sharp look, behind her stood her new husband. He reached out and shook Mr. Black's hand and then escorted his wife to the drawling room.

Sirius followed them, hanging behind. Bellatrix began to examine the room and her eyes crossed the family tapestry with pride before resting on her aunt. "How have you been?" She asked.

"Very well." Mrs. Black replied, pleasantly.

"That's good." Bellatrix's eyes darted to Sirius for a second and they burned with some kind of curiosity before drifting lazily back to her aunt. She took almost no notice of the husband on her arm, treating him as a piece of furniture.

"You know, we've been very proud of you, dear." Mrs. Black said.

Bellatrix smile widened. "Thank you so much."

Sirius shot a glance at Regulus who was listening, mesmerized. It turned his stomach.

"Come on, Sirius." Andromeda said, taking his arm. She drew him up and pulled away towards the door. "I hope you won't mind us, but I feel like I haven't seen the house in ages," She said, letting her eyes drift over the tapestry. "I'd like Sirius to show me around."

Sirius let her drag him off, taking it as his only chance for escape. She pulled him into the hall and smiled. "I thought you might have wanted to get out of there." She said.

He nodded and pulled free of her grip. "Thanks."

"Can we go up to your room?" She asked. "I don't want to get pulled back in there."

He nodded, relieved. "Sure."

He lead her up and they closed the door behind them. Andromeda looked around his room with interest. "Its nice here." she said. Her eyes found the Gryffindor banner and the corner of her mouth twitch upwards. "Gryffindor banner in a room full of Slytherin colors, looks sort of out of place." She grinned and pulled out her wand. "Want some help redecorating?"

He nodded, enthusiastically.

She rolled up her sleeves. "Get on the bed." He hopped up and she began to look around the room. "Hmm, I can change those drapes for you." She waved her wand and the dark green began to change. From the bottom up, white began to shoot like fire until the whole of the fabric was white and then red began to filter in too, stopping only when the color change was complete.

Andromeda winked. "No point in giving your mother too much of a heart attack." She said, sitting down on the bed and leaning back.

He sat against the head board. "How come you're doing all this?"

She played with a loose threat on the blanket for a second. "You promise to keep a secret for me?"

He nodded.

"You can't tell anyone, under any circumstances. Got it?" He nodded again and she smiled. "I've got a boyfriend. He's a Huffelpuff and a muggle born. His name is Ted." She stared at him intently, searching his face. "They'd freak if they knew."

He nodded, stunned. "Yeah."

She looked away, out the window. "You're in Gryffindor, you're not like them plus, you've made friends with that Potter boy and his family is considered blood traitors. I'm proud of you for that." She looked up and winked, flicking her wand at an ugly painting on the wall; it transfigured into a second banner.

"So how long have you been with this guy?" Sirius asked.

"A month now and I already really like him. Sirius, don't turn out like them. I don't know if you've realized it yet, but there are a lot of bad things going on and it's going to get worse. Your parents, my sisters, they're on the wrong side. You know about the people who've been disappearing and the the people who've turned up dead? They've mostly been muggles and muggleborns. I'm worried about Ted, our whole family is supporting the bad guys here." A shadow fell across her face. "Bella has joined up with them."

He felt a small shiver go up his spine. "Really? When?"

"Not long ago, her husband did too. They got in together. Sirius, these people are doing bad things and every day it seems like it gets worse. Please, whatever happens, don't believe what your parents say. They're wrong and maybe one day they'll see it but for now. . ." She shook her head.

Sirius watched her sit for a moment before laying back. "I won't tell and don't worry, I won't be like them." Something about saying those words made a lump form in his throat. It was a scary kind of thought.

Andromeda laughed lightly and began sorting through his records. "I have a few of these. If you want some more, I'll give them to you when we get back to school. I got a few new ones for Christmas."

"That'd be great." He gave her a moment before asking: "Hey, what are you going to do when they find out about Ted?"

"Oh, I don't know. Aunt Walburga will be furious. So will my mum and sisters for that matter." She gave him a humored smile. "Don't be surprised if I'm disowned." Still, her eyes looked a little wattery.

He bit his lip. In all likely scenarios, she would be disowned and her name would be blacklisted. He didn't want that to happen but then he had an insane thought that maybe she did. She wasn't apologetic at all and he admired her for it.

"Well, even if you are disowned, I'll stick up for you." He gave her a grin.

She chuckled. "Aren't you your mother's perfect devil?"

"I try."


	16. Chapter 16

Sirius finished the rest of his holidays by himself. He stayed in his room and despite all of the nasty, argumentative comments that rose to his mouth each time he saw his parents, he somehow managed to keep them to a minimum. He only incited two big fights, both of which ended with only a few days of silence.

Things finally came to an end when the holidays ran out. Sirius and his father apparated to platform nine and three quarters and before he could even get his bearings, his father disapperated and he was alone.

Sirius wobbled for a minute fore realizing that his father had left. He looked around and with a stab of annoyance, realizing he would have to manage his trunk by himself. He stood angrily for a minute before he spotted James. At the sight of a friendly face, his frustration melted and he waved excitedly.

James waved back and pushed his way through the crowd, leaving both of his parents to run after him. Sirius grinned and tried to make it look as though he was not struggling with his trunk.

James clapped him on his back. "Hiya!" He said. "Did you like the present I got you?"

"Yeah, brilliant!"

Mr, Potter smiled, politely "Good morning, Sirius." He said. "I just saw you get here, Where's your father? I'd like to have a word with him."

Sirius hesitated. "Um, he's gone, you just missed him."

Mr. Potter raised an eyebrow. "So quickly?"

"Yeah, he had a lot of stuff to do." Sirius averted his eyes.

Mr. Potter's mouth stretched to the left. "Well, perhaps I'll catch him next time."

"Yeah, maybe."

James looked between them with narrowed eyes. "Hey dad, do you think you can you help Sirius with his trunk?"

Mr. Potter smiled and pulled out his wand, tapping the trunk lightly. "Thant should do it." He gave Sirius a smile and again, there was something he liked about the man.

"mum, this is Sirius!" James said, directing Sirius's attention away from Mr. Potter. He looked over Mrs. Potter. She looked kind and he immediately liked her. She was such a stark contrast from his own mother that he was a little shocked.

She shook his hand. "James told me some interesting stories about you." She had a kind voice, laden with age but the kind of age that brought goodness. "You two seem like a pair of troublemakers when you're together."

Sirius grinned. "Well, to be honest, it's mostly James." He shook his head dramatically. "I try to stop him."

James was obviously pleased with how they were getting on. "Oh, whatever! Peeves was your fault!"

"Was not! Who told him to go after the Slythernins?"

James fumbled. "Doesn't matter, you gave him the idea in the first place!"

Mr. Potter tapped his watch. "You boys should probably get on the train, It was nice meeting you again, Sirius." They shook hands and then both boys took off for the train.

They found Remus already in a compartment and not long after that, Peter showed up, huffing and puffing from lugging his trunk.

"Happy New Year." Remus said, waving to them and clearing his things off the seat.

"Yeah, same." James said, as the train took off. He pressed his nose to the window and waved out at his parents, Peter at his elbow, did the same.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus, expecting him to do the same but Remus laughed. "Mine left, my mother has a cold and couldn't stay out in this weather."

"How's she doing?" Sirius asked, leaning forward.

Remus's face fell for a minute. "Oh, better, better." He said. "She's doing much better."

James plopped back in his seat and put his feet up. "Well, that's good now maybe you won't have to miss so much school."

"Yeah." Remus fell silent and stared out the window.

Peter gave him a sad look. "It's okay, you know." He said. "I'm sure she'll get better. Have you sent her to St. Mungo's?"

"Yeah but they couldn't make her any better."

Peter patted his arm and tried to look sober buth only managed to look silly.

Remus gave him a small smile. "It's fine, like I said, she's doing better. How was you guys' Christmases?"

James grinned "Great, I got a tone of stuff and my mum cooked a great dinner! Thanks for the chocolate, by the way."

Remus nodded. "Thanks for the joke products. The owl that delivered them accidentally dropped a dung bomb on my neighbors' lawn and ruined it."

They laughed and Sirius sank back in his seat. It was good to be back with his friends, it almost felt as though the last two weeks hadn't even happened. It felt so much more real to be sitting in a brightly light train car with three happy, funny individuals than it ever had in his home.

James suddenly leaped out of his seat. "I can't believe I almost forgot!" He began digging in his trunk. "I got the coolest, most wild thing in the world!" He pulled out a long piece of fabric that when fully extracted turned out to be a cloak. "Check this out!" He swung the fabric around his shoulders and in a heart beat was no more than a head. He stood grinning. "My dad gave it to me!" They all let out cried of astonishment and Peter almost fell of his seat.

"That's an invisibility cloak!" Remus cried.

"I know, isn't is great?" James danced in a circle, his floating head spinning in place. "We are going to have so much fun with this!"

Sirius laughed. "Wow, where did he get it?"

"His dad. He told me he had it at school and it's a tradition." James stopped dancing and plopped down in his seat, enjoying their stunned faces for a minute more before taking the cloak off and folding it up. "What do you guys think?" He was beaming.

"Really great." Remus said, his eyes lighting up.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen! I've never known anyone who owned an invisiblity cloak before." Peter gasped, bouncing in his seat.

Sirius nodded and reached forward to run his hand under the cloak and watched it disappear. "Really cool."

Satisfied, James tucked the cloak away and embarked on plans for the cloak

They talked lightly for the rest of the trip, enjoying themselves and relaxing into an easy stupor. Sirius actively looked forward to being back at school. He was relieved the holidays were over. James complained bitterly about having to go back to class and tried to get him to join in but he only laughed and made to act as though he was too cool to care.

That night he was glad to be back in his bed in Gryffindor tower, he was relaxed and at ease and it felt right.

The next morning it was back to class and back to work. Or at least their version of work. Most of that consisted of goofing around in the back of the class and harassing other students.

It was less than forty-eight hours after their return that James managed to cross Lily Evans again. He hadn't really done anything too terrible, only dumped a bucket of trash over her friend's head. It hadn't even been Snape. James hadn't understood why she had gotten so mad.

It took two days for her to clam down and over those two days, Sirius noticed strange behavior emanating from James. He tried desperately to get her attention and when she refused to speak to him, he pined.

Noting this behavior, Sirius conferred with Remus and Peter in private, hunched over in a corner of the library.

"So, what do you think is up with him?" Sirius asked, keeping a look-out for James.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"I mean, why does he go all googly-eyes whenever Evans is around! Why is he so bent on getting her attention?!"

Remus cleared his throat. "You don't think he likes her, do you?"

Peter gasped. "What!?"

"I sure hope not." Sirius grumbled, slumping back in his seat and crossing his arms. "She's so stuck up!"

Remus sighed and sat back. "It's just a guess, but I think he really digs her."

Sirius shook his head. "Ugh!"

Peter sat looking between them, his eyes wide. "But why would James liker her? All he does is try and make her mad and all she does is get mad!"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. She's not ugly, she's actually really pretty and she's really smart so there's a lot to like and I don't know about you guys, but she's been decent to me."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause you haven't gotten on her bad side."

"Well, I haven't done anything to get on her bad side."

"Fair enough, but I still don't see how James can like her."

Peter nodded. "Yeah, she's mean."

Remus shrugged again. "Well, who knows."

"Do you think we could just ask him?" Peter asked.

Sirius snorted. "Fat chance of him owning up to it. He would just deny it."

"Probably because we would just make fun of him." Remus pointed out.

Sirius waved him off. "Whatever."

They packed up their books and headed back to the common room, stopping only briefly for Sirius to threaten Peter into keeping his mouth shut. James came into the dormitory later and changed out from a quidditch practice. He'd been given a permanent place on the team after returning from the holidays.

For days after he got the news, James was insufferable. He told practically everyone he came into contact with and it was all he talked about. Sirius swiftly found himself getting annoyed. James literally couldn't talk about anything else. For a while he'd allowed it to go on, James had a right to be happy but he quickly became unbearable and he couldn't stand it anymore.

But James took their fading enthusiasm with good grace. He was disappointed but seemed to at least understand that they could not stay as revved up as he was.

They all eagerly awaited the first game of the new year. Sirius wanted to cheer James on now that he was an official member of the house team. This move to being a full time member gained them all a lot of respect. People were impressed with a first year good enough to be picked for the house team and they were interested in his friends too.

Sirius enjoyed the attention, people were impressed by him, if not so much by Peter and Remus. He and James rose very quickly to become some of the most popular students in their year, again, only Lily Evans seemed to have any problem with them.

Sirius kept on the look-out for Andromeda's new boyfriend, Ted. He was curious about what sort of boy could have shaken his cousin's belief's. He finally got to meet him when Andromeda cornered him after a class and dragged him away down a corridor.

"Sirius, c'mon, I want you to meet my boyfriend." She said, grabbing him by his wrist. Ted stood down by the Transfiguration class room. Sirius's first impression was that he was ordinary looking but he had a pleasant face.

Andromeda beamed, she looked brighter and happier that Sirius could ever remember her being around the family. She positively glowed. "Sirius," She said, her voice flowing with an easy spiritedness that astonished him. She wrapped her arm around Ted's and smiled.

Ted held out his hand and there was a frankness that Sirius liked. He had a wide, open face that portrayed good humor and friendliness.

"How do you do?"

Sirius shook his hand. "Fine thanks, you?"

Ted grinned. "Andromeda's told me about you. Said you were the other odd one out."

Andromeda smiled. "Ted wanted to meet at least one member of my family who wouldn't hate him. He's met my sisters and he knows how nasty they can be."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear if she had come out about their relationship. Andromeda shook her head.

"No, I haven't told them but we're all in the same year and Bella was here last year and he met her then." A shadow fell over her eyes. "He knows and I wanted him to meet someone decent."

Ted grinned. "She said you were okay."

Sirius nodded. "Well, whatever makes you happy."

Andromeda gave him a please smile. Her rich good looks always made her look a bit haughty but the smile was kind and good and he could see through the immediate appearance. "Well, we had all better hustle on to class. We can talk more later." She bent a little and gave him a loose hug. "Thank you, Sirius."

He nodded and hurried to catch up with James and the others.

"Where were you?" James asked when he finally did.

"Talking to my cousin."

"Thought you all didn't get along?"

"Well, Andromeda is okay."

James shrugged and the four of them took their seats.


	17. Chapter 17

The days past more quickly than they should have. James blew minds at Quidditch games, he far surpassed the others' expectations of him and boy did he know it. If he was bad before, Sirius definitely saw an increase in his ego.

But other than that, they were bogged down with homework. The teachers began piling on the assignments as soon as they got back, allegedly to prepare them for end of the year exams but Sirius suspected that it was also partly a plot to make him personally suffer.

He did not handle the excess work with grace. He and James moaned and groaned and complained endlessly. He would be damned if he would just lie down and take it. But of coarse he did. As much as he would have liked not to, he still did the work.

Remus was the only one that took the work without making a spectacle of himself and he was constantly fighting to keep them from stealing his completed work.

When February came, James had big plans for Valentines day. He spent the morning trying to straiten his hair but ultimately failed and then took even more time in dressing. Sirius, Remus and Peter exchanged knowing looks but said nothing. They themselves had plans to follow James closely and mock him the first chance he got to speak to Lily.

But as it happened, they needn't have tried so hard. First thing at breakfast, James plopped down in the seat next to her and offered to pour her orange juice. She promptly told him he could pour it on his head. Despite the immediate rejection, he was resilient, he simply asked her if that would make her happy. She glared at him and moved on down the table. James sat in defeat.

"Tough luck, mate." Sirius said callously, clapping him on his back and sitting down.

"Shut your face." James said. He didn't look that disappointed and Sirius thought he would have been a fool to have expected it to go any differently.

James looked wistfully down the table at Lily who saw him watching and turned away angrily. He sighed. "So you guys got any plans for today?" He asked.

"What are you talking about, my day was just made." Sirius said.

"Haha, seriously."

Remus shrugged. "No, not really."

"I dunno." Peter looked down at his toast with a slight pout on his face.

Sirius looked around at the girls at the table and decided that if he would go for one of them, she would have to e very good looking. He paid special attention to a a third year girl but she was not looking at him and it disappointed him that most of the older girls thought he was more adorable than attractive. He shrugged and bit into his toast. "Who knows."

They headed to class and sat in the back, listening to professor Flitwick try and make the lesson relate to Valentine's day, they had moved on from levitation charms and were now attempting more difficult spells. Sirius learned them rather quickly and took pride in that. He and James had spent several classes making objects fly into one another with increasing speed and that had lasted until their objects collided with Flitwick in the middle. Their fun had ended with a near knockout. After that they had taken the caution to be more discrete and to make their objects fly higher.

"Abusing magic!" Flitwick cried indignantly as feathers rained down over his head for a third time. He shot his wand at the two pillows James and Sirius had been controlling that the two cushions sped at top speed towards the boys. They were each smacked rather painlessly over top of the heads and Flitwick gave them and winking smile. "Next time boys, try a bit harder not to get caught." The pillows zoomed into their box and Sirius and James sat with good humored frowns.

They finished class and James made another attempt to gallantly court Lily which was snubbed and they headed on to their next class.

Professor Bins did either not know about or did not care about the holiday and droned on as always, Sirius paid little attention. He didn't even hear a word, he was too busy trying to distract James from his failed attempts at seduction. James sat moping and casting furtive glances over at Lily who steadfastly refused to look at him.

"Would you get off it?" Sirius asked exasperatedly.

James threw him a nasty glare and kept right on sulking. Next to them, Remus was the only one taking notes but Sirius noticed that he'd only filled a quarter of a page in one hour.

After class, Sirius talked James into a better mood by convincing him to give the invisibility cloak a go. "It'll be fun!" He said.

Seeing nothing better to do, James agreed and they made plans to explore the school over the weekend, forsaking their growing pile of homework.

Remus's eyes' light up at the idea. So far he had been the best behaved and most of his misconduct was kept quiet. He had made it abundantly clear that he didn't want to draw a lot of attention to himself but occasionally James and Sirius could draw out the mischief in him.

Peter bounced excitedly and they allowed him to come along, he'd rather grown on them and they were used to having him around now.

That night after James's last attempt at wooing Lily, they camped out around the fire, waiting for the common room to clear out. When the last two people finally departed, James fished the cloak out of his bag and four of them threw it over themselves, Remus and Peter making sure it covered their feet.

They climbed out the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady's cries. "Who's there?" She squawked. "Who's leaving! You're breaking curfew!"

Sirius resisted telling her to stuff it and the four of them made their way down the dark corridor. "So where are we going?" Peter asked.

James looked at Sirius. "What do you say?" He asked.

Sirius thought hard for a minute. "I dunno, lets just explore!"

Shrugging James took the lead, carefully keeping pace with the others to remain hidden. "They passed Filch along the way and held their breath in doing so, he was doing some last minute cleaning, scrubbing ink off a wall. Peeves had smashed several jars around the school.

"Don't know why the headmaster keeps him around. . ." Filch muttered, scrubbing harder. "Worse than the bloody students, no respect for others' hard work. Do they think it's easy keeping a castle up?"

Sirius caught James's eye in the light from Filch's lantern and had to stuff his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing. They moved on, heading towards the great hall.

Remus quietly pushed open the door and they shuffled in. The windows and stary sky above cast silver light over the whole hall, giving it an oddly eery look in the dark. It was weird seeing the hall so empty and quiet. It didn't seem natural and Sirius had a strong desire to shout. James threw off the cloak and they spread out, eventually making their way up to the staff table.

With an impish grin, James flung himself down in Dumbledore's chair and waved his arms majestically. "What do you think?" He asked. "Think I got what it takes to be headmaster?"

They laughed took staff seats, looking out over the Great Hall. It was so very different from up at the staff table. Sirius tried to imagine the hall filled with students and grinned at the thought. Next to him, James was giving out instructions in his very best impersonation of Dumbledore and Peter was laughing. To his left, Remus sat, resting on his elbows. "Think I could be a teacher?" He asked.

"Sure, why not?" Sirius said.

"Yeah, I could see you doing that." James chimed in, rubbing his chin. "What do you think you'd teach?"

Remus thought for a minute. "Dunno, I'm good at Charms but I don't think Flitwick will ever leave so maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

They laughed. "You gonna give me detention?" James asked.

"Well, I can't if you're the Headmaster, maybe I'll give Sirius detention! He never takes notes."

Sirius rolled his eyes and looked back out over the hall. He liked sitting up at the staff table but the ringing silence that hung over the hall was heavy and gave him an odd feeling.

James stood up and clapped his hands. "I do here by declare that all finals are canceled for the next seven years!" He stepped down and scooped up the cloak. "Come on, gents, the night is young and we still have ground to cover."

"What are you going and clapping like that or?" Sirius hissed, wrapping part of the cloak around him. "You wanna tell Filch we're here or something?"

James shrugged and made room for the other two and they exited through a door next to the staff table, coming out into the trophy room. Again, James pulled off the cloak. He looked around at the shiny cups and medals. "I'm gonna win some of these." He said, examining a gold cup with a broom stick carved into it. House Quidditch Cup Championship 1767. His eyes light up as he looked at it.

Sirius prodded the coals in the fireplace, giving the room a little more light and looked around. He spotted Remus in a dark corner, holding his wand over a plaque and went to investigate.

"Finnius Nigelus Black, Headmaster of Hogwarts." Remus read. "Hey, are you related to this guy?"

Sirius cast the plaque a side long glance. "Yeah great grand father or great-great or something."

"That's cool." James said, coming up beside them.

Sirius shrugged. "I guess, I never really cared that much about it." He gave the plaque a wistful look and could hear his mother preaching off a sermon about the man. He turned away. "It's nothing. I never met him." Privately he was glad of that.

James laughed. "I would be too. My dad told me he was the least liked headmaster Hogwarts ever had."

Sirius cracked a little smile and wished he could tell his mother that.

"Now this. . ." James said, spreading his arms in front of the current house cup. "This is gonna be ours!"

Sirius gave him a high-five and then froze up when the resulting smack echoed around the chamber and through the open door into the great hall.

"Maybe we should go!" Peter said, glancing into the Great Hall. He said it just in time. On the other end of the hall, the doors opened and Filch came bursting in an ink covered mess. "Who's in here!?" He bellowed. "I know you're in here? In league with Peeves are you? I'd have known!"

They rushed to slip under the cloak and backed out another door, running as quickly as they could to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Hey, let us in!" Sirius hissed.

She awoke with a start in time to see his head pop out of thin air. "Good Heavens!" She cried, clutching her chest.

"Drumsticks." James said, hurriedly.

Still wide eyed, she swung open and the pushed and shoved to get in first, finally collapsing around the fire. James threw the cloak on the floor and sat panting, half out of his seat. He pushed his glasses up his nose and grinned. "Well, that was an adventure."

Sirius nodded and then started laughing. "So, are we in league with Peeves now?"

The others laughed.

"Lets' do this again next week!" James said, pulling the rest of his body into his chair. "Explore more of the castle."

They nodded and then, checking the time headed off to bed.


	18. Chapter 18

Sirius could not enjoy his Easter break. Even though he'd stayed at school he was so bogged down with homework in preparation for final exams, he hardly noticed the absence of class. James complained loudly about the excess amount of work until he was told to shut up by a fifth year who was studying for OWL exams.

It didn't seem to matter how much time they spent working, they never seemed to make a dent and Sirius found himself more and more just writing down half-assed answers to get the ordeal over with.

To make matters worse, Remus had chosen the holidays to get sick again and had had to go home.

Sirius worried about him, not only was he sick just about every month, he never could say just what exactly was wrong with him. The symptoms were vague and no amount of questioning could get Madam Pomfry to tell them. In fact, she had said that unless they were injured, they were not allowed in the hospital wing anymore.

James had gotten heated and yelled that he was just worried about his friend and at that moment, she had given him a very sad look and her mouth had opened as though she was going to finally tell him but she had closed it and ushered them out.

"Listen," She had said, facing them through the narrow gap in the door. "I'm glad you're worried about Mr. Lupin but if he hasn't told you then he doesn't want you to know and it's not my place to say."

They had left in a bad mood that had had to be hidden the next day when Remus returned. He had no idea that they were investigating or maybe he did, but if that was the case, he hid his knowledge well.

Sirius had given up trying to get an answer out of him, whenever they brought up his illness, he would simply give them a shrug and say forlornly that there was nothing anyone could do.

As the year drew to a close and Exams jumped from their proper place in far distant future to the next week, they began taking studying seriously, spending more time in the library and on homework than they probably had all year.

When the week of exams came, Sirius took them head on and after the first charms exam, felt rather good about himself. Only Peter seemed to doubt his score. He left with his head hung low, fretting about how he had botched an incantation.

James smacked him rather painfully on his back and grinned. "Cheer up, you did the written portion well, I looked off your paper a few times and you had a bunch of stuff right."

Peter cheered up and Remus gave him a look of wonder. "Do you really think you should just yell that?" He asked, grinning.

James shrugged, marching on ahead to lunch. Sirius gave Remus a grin of his own and ran after him.

By the end of the week, Sirius was fairly sure that he'd passed all his exams. Only McGonnogall's transfiguration final had troubled him but he was pretty sure he'd passed. On the Friday evening after the end of exams, he, James, Peter and Remus strolled out across the grounds with a picnic basket full of stolen food and camped out beside the lake for a picnic.

Term was almost over and as Sirius lay back and looked up at the sky worry crept back into his heart. He had had an even better second semester and didn't think he could take being stuck back with his family for another summer. He looked over and James who was laughing loudly as he swiped food from Peter and then at Remus who was laughing too, he always looked healthier when he laughed and then at Peter who despite Jame's theft was laughing along. He cracked a grin too and sat up in time for the fried chicken to hit him in his face.

He wiped the chicken away and scowled, pretending to be mad. "Potter!" He yelled, grabbing his wand and sending the basket after James.

He really didn't know how he would tolerate another summer with his parents but right then and there he decided not to think about it.

The final game of the semester finished out with a bang. James played seeker again and faced off against Huffelpuff for the house quidditch cup. It was a great game and their victory was a close call. Huffelpuff caught the snitch but in the end they had more points and Gryffindor won.

James was not shy about rubbing it in the Huffelpuff seeker's face when the boy flew to the ground in an angry storm, almost in tears.

Sirius had raced onto the field with the rest of the Gryffindors to congratulate James. He was thrilled, especially when he saw how disappointed Snape looked and how torn Lily was between consolidating her friend and enjoying her own house's victory.

James shot Snape a grin and was glared at. "Look how mad he is!" He cheered, taking to the air and doing impressive loops to show off.

It took quite a while for them to drag him back to the ground and then even longer to get him back to the common room. When they did, some of the other students had already started up a part and Remus and Peter were charged with the task of getting food.

It was a great end to the year but on the last day, it was still and end and it meant Sirius would be going home.

The last day, Sirius moped around. He had planned the night before to be in a good mood but when he woke up and lay in bed thinking that it would be the last night for a while he could only feel depressed. Tomorrow night he would go to sleep in his bed at number 12 Grimmauld Place and wake up to his bedroom ceiling. He wouldn't hear his friends and their snoring or the creak of the castle. The very air would be different.

He rolled over and walked to the window and looked out at the Forbidden Forrest. The trees were black in the early morning light and the grounds looked empty. A thick mist hung just over the grass, tinted blue by the first rays of sunlight. He would miss the sight and it occurred to him that he had never really appreciated it before.

He stared out at the grounds for a while longer before he became aware that James was no longer snoring. James was sitting up with his skinny legs thrown over the side of the bed watching him. "Something wrong?" He asked.

Sirius shook his head and James gave him a grin. "Really feels like home, doesn't it?" He said, looking around the room fondly.

He nodded. "Yeah. Didn't think it would when I first got here, especially when I was sorted into Gryffindor."

James cast an eye over at Peter and Remus and then at the other boys in the dormitory. "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep without you lot snoring all the time."

"You do more than enough for the rest of us, mate."

They shared a laugh and the James gave him a serious look. "How come it was such a big deal for you to be sorted into Gryffindor?"

There was a pause. James had never asked anything like it before but now he sat looking quite seriously over his glasses and there would be no joking to get out of answering.

Sirius leaned against the window. "My mum and dad were both in Slytherin and so were my cousins and my aunts and uncles and all of my other relatives. I'm like the only one who's not been put in Slytherin."

"Sounds nasty." James said. "Did they give you a hard time about it?" He obviously remembered the howler.

"Yeah. They were furious. My mum wanted me to be switch but Dumbledore gave me the choice and I chose to stay in Gryffindor. She was pretty mad over Christmas break too but none of them really talked to me."

James nodded. "Hmm, tell you what, it's a bit late this summer but how about we meet up next summer. See if you can spend it with my family. I think my mum and dad liked you."

Sirius grinned. "Sure, that'd be great."

"Just promise me that you'll write me this summer, don't be like Christmas and make me contact you."

Sirius promised and the two of them got dressed and hurried to wake the others.

The end of term feast was spectacular but was weighed down by a Ravenclaw victory. They had won the house cup and the Great Hall was blue instead of red.

Even with that, the Gryffindors made plans to for next year, people were handing over addresses and muggle-borns were exchanging phone numbers. Sirius and James swore loudly that they would win the House Cup next year and several other students scoffed saying that they were the reason Gryffindor had lost so many points.

They kept up their cheer on the Hogwarts express and all the way to the platform but once they had changed out of their robes and into street clothes, the cheer died and reality set in. it would be months until they saw each other again.

They all said hello to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Potter gave Sirius and hug and they introduced her to Peter and Remus who soon said goodbye to find their own parents.

Sirius stayed with the Potters for an extra long time. Part of him know that he was holding them up but James wouldn't stop talking for a minute and there was no way for his parents to tell him it was time to leave. When the platform had begun to clear, Sirius looked around for a third time and could not spot his parents.

"So, where are your folks?" James asked. He received a small tap on the top of his head from his mother. "Sorry, where are your parents?"

Sirius shrugged. "Dunno. I don't see them."

Mr. Potter gave him a frown and looked around too. "Do you think they got the date wrong?" He asked.

Sirius doubted that. "I dunno."

There was an awkward pause in which another family disapperated and the platform cleared even more. Sirius looked around uneasily. He knew his parents hadn't mixed up the date and they hadn't abandoned him. He figured that his father had just waited to come until their were fewer people around.

Mr. Potter rubbed his chin and his wife squeezed Sirius's shoulder. "We'll wait with you and if he doesn't turn up soon, we'll find another way to get you home."

He nodded and the four of them found seats on a bench. James looked troubled but began relating stories from over the year to his parents and Sirius found himself roped into a vivid account of the last Quidditch match.

When at last his father did arrive, Sirius and James had just finished a rather long story about Peeves and were riding out the laughter. Sirius stopped short and caught his father's eye. Mr. Black's mouth was drawn up tight.

Mr. Potter gave him a frown and stood up, stepping forward. "Ah," He said. "You must be Sirius's father. We were just enjoying your son's company."

They shook hands and Sirius glanced at James who was watching the whole thing intently. "See ya next year." He said, elbowing James who nodded.

"Yeah, see you."

Mrs. Potter gave him an affectionate pat on the cheek and a smile before returning her attention to her husband.

Sirius looked towards his father who was making icy pleasantries with James'. They talked business for a minute and then the usual, kids in school, kids growing up, ministry dealings and then an article in the paper before Mr. Black made a not so subtle glance at his watch and excused himself. He steered Sirius away and the two of the disapperated away and landed on the street outside Number 12 Grummauld Place.

Sirius reeled for a minute before getting his feet firmly planted. Then before he could take the first step, he realized he was alone. His father had gone on ahead inside. He stood for a minuet, enjoying the summer sun and delaying the moment he would have to go inside.

Eventually though, he noticed several neighbors peering out through their curtains and picked up his truck and steadied himself for a long summer.


	19. Chapter 19

It only took a few days for Sirius to realize just how changed he was. He was a very different person from the one he had been at the beginning of the school year. He took everything his parents said now with a grain of salt and then, that was only when he listened. He felt that before he had been limited by the small world he'd inhabited. But now he''d experienced a much larger one and he was not thrilled to be back. He spent long hours away from the house, mostly by himself. He wondered the neighborhood, occasionally talking to a passer by.

Two weeks onto summer, the older boy from before drove by with a couple of friends and hailed him down.

"Hey!" The boy called. "Hey, Sirius!"

He had been surprised to hear his name called out. He was blocks from home and the voice wasn't angry or yelling. He turned and waved, pleasantly surprised.

The car slowed down next to him. "He-hey!" The boy called. From in the back seat a girl asked who he was talking to. "This is Sirius, he's an alright dude. Hey, man, we're headed home, you want a ride? We can hang?"

Having nothing better to do, Sirius nodded and hopped in the back seat. There was one girl and another boy in the backseat. "Hi." He said.

The girl leaned over and gave him a smile. "I'm Alice." She said. She wore a lot of glittering necklaces and he decided he liked her. She was sweet looking and her short twiggy cut was almost funny in comparison to the boy's long hair.

"What sort of name is 'Sirius'?" She asked. "Isn't that a star? Are your parents hip or something?"

He shrugged. "They're something."

She laughed. "That's cool."

He looked at the other boy in the back. He sat with his head against the window and his eyes closed. "Oh, don't mind him. He's asleep." Alice said, tilting her head and making her beads jingle.

Sirius leaned back and gazed out the window. It was only his second time being in a car and he ahd to admit, it was a little more comfortable than riding a broom.

Alice leaned forward with another jingling sound and spoke to the boy in the front seat he nodded and turned on the radio. "So, Sirius." He said. "Are you off for holidays?"

"Yeah."

"Have a good term?"

Sirius thought about it. No one had asked him that at home. "Yeah, it was great. I made a tone of friends and had a good time."

"Good. That's what it's all about. Anything specific happen? Get in anymore trouble?"

"Nope, you have to get caught to get in trouble."

Laughter rang out through the car and Sirius found himself having the first real good time of the summer. "You're really something, man. Hey, you still into motorcycles?"

"Yeah, sure." Sirius looked up hopefully.

"Well, my buddy Sean here had a bike. He's the one I talked to you about. You're a bit small but I think you'll manage."

"He has a town bike." Alice said. "It's smaller."

Sirius nodded, not understanding. "That sounds great! Think he'll give me a ride?"

Sean grunted in his sleep, twitching his nose.

"Yeah, I think he will. He's cool with kids."

They pulled up in front of a smaller house and and got out. "Oh, we have to be quiet." Alice said. "The walls are paper thin and the neighbors can here us."

He nodded and the four of them made their way inside. The older kids either hadn't taken very good care of the place or they had bought it because it was in such bad shape but there was an obvious effort, probably on the part of Alice to decorate.

"Hey Denny," Teh boy who had been asleep grunted. "When did we pick up a kid?"

Alice and the first boy, now known as Denny (it occurred to Sirius that he hadn't known his name before.) both laughed. "Winter." Denny said.

Sean just shrugged and went to get himself a drink. Sirius sat down with Alice on the sofa and watched her pick up a note pad. "I'm making a shopping list." She said, when he tried to ask what she was doing. "Hey, Denny, do we need any milk?" She called.

"We always need milk."

Sean came back and threw himself down in an armchair. "You the kid Den' was talking to me about letting ride my bike?"

"Yeah." He said, trying to be cool and curb his enthusiasm.

"I'm down with that. Give me a minute to wake up and I'll take you out back." Got my bike all cleaned up the other day."

Denny came in and sat down against the sofa. "I head you say you were cool with giving him a go on your bike?" He asked.

Sean grunted. "Yeah, sure."

Denny chuckled. "Here, you can give him a ride home on it. Think your parents will freak when you come riding up on a motorcycle?"

Sirius both grinned and inwardly cringed. "Oh, they'll freak all right."

Alice put her list aside and brushed her hair back. "you should hag with us more this summer." She said. "I seen you out around the neighborhood all by yourself and sometimes you look awful lonely."

He shrugged, liking the idea of having somewhere to go. "Sure, that'd be great."

She smiled and excused herself to go and change.

"She works nights at a dinner." Denny explained. "So she goes to bed early."

Sirius nodded, understanding.

"Well, Sean said, getting up and stretching. "Times' a-waisting. Lets get the bike."

He followed him out a side door and into the back garden.

"This is my lover." Sean said. "This lady got me from Liverpool to Edinburgh with only three speeding tickets along the way." He grinned at the memory. "I was there for a friend's birthday." He shook his head, clearing it. "Anyway, hop on. Denny, if you would oblige, open the gate."

Denny and Sirius both did as they were told and Sean kicked off, he made Sirius sit behind him because of his size and it only slightly lessened the experience.

Riding a motorcycle was unlike anything Sirius had ever done before. A broom did not have the same feel and he almost found himself liking the bike better. Denny yelled something about a helmet but Sean ignored him and they ripped out onto the street.

It really was one of the most exhilarating experiences of his life. The entire feel was so different from anything he had ever felt before. The wind whipped his hair in all directions and the buildings zoomed by. Someone yelled something about being reckless and Sean laughed and Sirius found himself laughing too.

"Tell me when we get to your place!" Sean yelled over the roar of the engine.

"Sure!"

Hearing was one of the most difficult things about the bike but somehow the way all sound was muffled just made it even better and when he saw his parents' house looming around the corner, he almost literally felt his heart sink and he considered not telling Sean and just riding on but it was getting late and he tapped Sean's arm and told him to stop.

He climbed off the bike and shook Sean's hand. "That was great!" He said.

Sean grinned. "Glad you appreciate. When you get older you should save up for one yourself. I'd take a bike to a car any day."

Sirius said that he would and laughed because he could only imagine his mother's face if she ever saw him on one, then Sean sped off and he was left standing alone on the street in front of his house. He swung his arms for a moment, looking up at the sky. He stood aimlessly for as long as he could before finally steering himself inside.


	20. Chapter 20

Most of Sirius's summer was quiet, his parents didn't talk to him and he didn't talk to them. He sent letters back and forth with James and the others and towards the end of the summer, when their next year book lists came, they organized a get together in Diagon Alley. James had come up with the idea, and Sirius thought that as long as he didn't mention to his parents that he would be meeting a friend, everything would work out.

They fixed to meet on the same day in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies and do their shopping together. Sirius had to do some twisting to get his parents to agree to take him on the specific day but when Regulus overheard he asked too they had conceded.

Regulus's letter to Hogwarts had come the week before and their parents were thrilled. Sirius sometimes felt his stomach turn when the topic was brought up at dinners. Once his mother had given him a very pointed look and said: "I'm sure you'll do better than Sirius." Then she had laughed and added. "You can't do worse."

His temper had flared at that and it was only by stabbing the table with his fork that he kept from replying back.

The appointed shopping day approached and his family used floo powder to arrive in a small apothecary near the end of the street that despite it's darker merchandise, was evidently not shady enough to be part of Knockturn Alley.

For the first twenty minutes, Sirius followed along behind his family, letting them do most of the shopping and stopping repeatedly to talk to a someone he knew. More than once his mother had glanced back suspiciously, indiscreetly sizing his friends up. He couldn't count the number of times her nose turned up.

When two O'clock came he coyly redirected their path towards Quality Quidditch Supplies and then held up looking at a broom display in the front window while his parents went in and looked at getting Regulus a new broom.

Less than a minute later he felt something cold press to the back of his neck and wheeled around to see James's grinning face. He was holding some sort of milkshake drink and beaming. Sirius rubbed his neck. "You know there are better ways to say 'hi'." He grumbled, not really mad at all.

James laughed. "You mean boring ways."

Behind him Mr and Mrs. Potter were just catching up. "Really, James!" His mother panted. "We're not young, you we can't run as fast as you!"

He laughed and waved to Sirius. "Told you I'd find him!"

Sirius grinned and brushed his hair from his eyes. He'd grown it out all summer and was now a little vain about it.

"Lovely to see you again." Mrs. Potter said, giving him a hug.

Mr. Potter shook his hand and and smiled. "Your parents inside?" He asked.

Sirius nodded, again not wanting them to meet. "Hold on, I'll go get some money and my list from the. He ran inside and up to his parents. "Hey, can I do my own shopping? It'd be faster."

Not looking at him, his mother handed him a bag of gold and his list. "Be back at the apothecary in two hours." She said.

He nodded and scampered off.

"Back?" James asked.

"Yeah." He held up his money." Got it."  
They started walked and James folded his arms behind his head. "I saw Peter a while ago but he was with his mother and said he'd catch up later. I think they went to get new clothes. He tore his old one's at the end of last year, remember?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah." He grinned at the thought of Peter falling backwards on the hem of his robes and ripping the hem clean off. "Seen Remus?"

"No, but I got a letter early this morning and he said he's be a bit late but we should meet him in the Leaky Cauldron."

They headed off to Flourish and Blots and loaded up on books. James complained loudly at the size of his books and Sirius had to agree.

From their they met up with another member of the house Quidditch team and James had to stop and talk. Then they hurried on to pick up parchment and quills and other necessities before it was time to meet Remus.

They found him in the Leaky Cauldron as he had said and cheered for him. He gave them a tired smile and for a split second James and Sirius exchanged worried looks. In a letter James had said he had read up on some magical ailments to try and see what might be wrong with him but had come up with nothing.

Remus laughed and asked them if they'd eaten, wich they hadn't and they'd sat down with the Lupins to eat.

Remus was with his father, a tired looking man with fading blond hair, it was already turning a bit gray despite the fact that he didn't look fifty yet. He shook hands with the Potters and he and the tree adults launched into a discussion, trying to figure out if they had been at school at the same time.

Sirius hunched over the table and began telling the other two about the motorcycle at the beginning of the summer. He'd spent a couple other days with Denny and Sean, they weren't always there and sometimes there were other people crashing at the house, they'd all been easy going people who'd liked music and not pretended to be anything other than what they were and it had been so refreshing to be with relaxed people.

He told James and Remus about the older kids' house and about Denny and Alice and all about the bike, towards the end of the Summer, Sean had let him take the bike out himself, although he made him wear a helmet and ride slowly.

James was impressed and woefully admitted that he hadn't done anything interesting all summer, he said he'd gone to France but he hadn't enjoyed it because his parents had been there visiting old friends.

Remus had laughed and shrugged, saying he hadn't done anything either. He was thinner than he'd been before and he looked tired but he said again that he was fine and wouldn't let the pursue the topic.

"So, you know, team captain says I'll probably still be on the team this year." James said. He ran a hand through his hair and Sirius noted that he was trying to grow it out a little in an effort to make it look neater. It wasn't working.

"Great," Sirius said, finishing his lunch. "I''ll be rooting for you."

Remus nodded. "Yeah, let's win this year."

James thrust his fist into the air and cheered, getting raised eyebrows from his parents and Mr. Lupin. He shrugged apologetically and sat back in his seat.

"We should get finished with shopping." Mr. Potter said, pushing his plate back. "Mr. Lupin, you're welcome to join us if Remus would like to stick with his friends."

Mr. Lupin gave a grateful smile. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

Remus smiled and grabbed his empty bag.

They set off,making it to their last shops and then retracing their steps for Remus and then finally winding up the day with ice cream.

It was the best day Sirius had had in a long time and towards the end of his allotted two hours he began checking his watch unhappily.

"Cheer up." James said. "Only a week left till start of term."

Sirius nodded and shrugged. "Yeah." He stretched and sighed. "Guess I should be heading back now."

Mr. Potter put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll go with you. We used floo to get here and we can use the fireplace of the book shop next to your apothecary. I went to school with the owner. Are you coming?" He looked inquiringly at Mr. Lupin who nodded.

"That would be fastest." They set off down the alley and finally spotted Peter who was trying to convince his mother to buy him a rainbow colored quill but abandoned the attempt when he saw them. He ran up cheerfully and introduced himself to the adults and then the four of them relapsed into a conversation about their summers.

They chatted loudly all the way, taking up most of the street and once halting traffic when someone's books took a spill.

Even when Sirius saw his parents and brother making their way to the apothecary his heart didn't sink nearly as far as t might have. James elbowed him and whispered a reminder about there being only a week.

Mr. Potter shook Mr. Black's hand again and they exchanged cold greetings. Remus and his father hung back, the look Mrs. Black gave them was pure contempt and she didn't even look at the Petegrews.

Finally she steered Sirius inside the apothecary and he was forced into the fireplace, narrowly missing his head on the mantel. He caught a last glance at his friends through the window and his heart lurched with longing, they were laughing and smiling. He waved before finally being whipped out of sight. He came to a spinning stop in his own fireplace and groaned, looking out at the drawling room of number 12 Grimmauld Place.


	21. Chapter 21

The rest of the Summer fizzled out quickly but Sirius barely even noticed it. He spent the remaining days with Denny and Alice, even managing to get a few more rides on Sean's motorcycle.

On the last day of vacation he found himself laying on the steps of Denny's house with Denny, Alice and two others who's names he could not remember. Denny had offered to give him a goodbye party but he'd declined, not really wanting to do anything at all.

Denny was reading a muggle comic book and Alice was leafing through a magazine, the two others were talking excitedly about muggle politics and he, Sirius was laying back, gazing up at the sky. He didn't mind the buzz of chatter around him or the occasional thwick of Alice or Denny turning a page. It all added to a relaxed atmosphere. He was sublimely happy. Tomorrow he would be on the train to school with his friends. Then it would be months before he would have to see his parents. His only fear was that Regulus would try and latch on to him, but that was minimal, if he tried, he could loose him.

He smiled and yawned, it was a clear day and the sun was out, his parents had no idea where he was and the people he was with were second only to his school friends. He looked up at the people around him and smiled, he liked them but they just didn't compare to James, Remus and Peter. He closed his eyes again and sighed contentedly, waiting for the day to end.

After a quick goodbye at the end of the day, Sirius headed home, his parents gave him pointed looks all though out dinner but didn't lecture him, they were more concerned about the rising star Regulus was becoming. He did get a few snippy comments about how they hoped his bother would be a better student and stay out of trouble. They didn't concern him much, only vaguely making him realize how much hope his parents had lost in him and that was more funny than anything else.

The next morning he awoke a good twenty minutes before the rest of the family. He wanted out. He was packed and dressed in less than ten minutes and waited anxiously at the foot of his bed, tapping his toe and drumming his fingers. It was almost torture to hear how slow the rest of the house went about getting ready. He snapped at Kreature for taking too long with breakfast and got a nasty glare but he didn't really care what the stupid elf thought, the damn thing wold be glad to be rid of him.

They used side along apparittion to gt to the platform, Regulus strode confidently through the barrier, obviously trying to make a good impression on the other students, Sirius followed along after him, rolling his eyes and slouching. After that, he didn't hang around for a goodbye, he spotted Peter hugging his parents goodbye and ran over to greet him. Peter grinned delightedly and the two of them began dragging their trunks onto the train. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius spotted his brother slink off with several Slytherins but his attention was diverted when he caught sight of James. He promptly abandoned his trunk and Peter to high five him. He ran up and slapped him on the back, shaking hands again with Mr. and Mrs. Potter and earning a hug from Mrs. Potter. She kissed his cheek and momentarily it was an odd feeling but he smiled and kisser her's back making them all laugh.

Ten minutes later they were all on the train, minus Remus. Sirius looked around anxiously for him but he couldn't spot him on the platform.

James checked his watch, rocking nervously in his seat. "He's going to miss the train!" He said. "You didn't think he got sick again do you? Or his mother? I mean, she looked okay when we met her and all but something could have happened."

Sirius nodded, worrying too. He scanned the thinning crowd.

"Maybe he's on the train but hasn't found us." Peter piped up.

They shrugged, plausible but not very likely. The train lurched forward and again they all exchanged uneasy looks. Ten minutes later it was apparent that the train was moving and Remus was not with them. They settled back unhappily.

James told all about his summer adventures ad Peter told about how he had gone to visit some cousins. Sirius didn't bother to tell about his cousins, they had stopped by preaching about the Dark Lord and their accomplishments as Death Eaters.

He did get in a few stories about his muggle friends that amused and fascinated James and Peter. Neither of them had ever had that much contact with muggles and stories about Sean's motorcycle and Denny's television were new and quaint to them. James couldn't understand how a motorcycle could compare to a broom and laughed at the idea and Peter spoke up saying his dad was a half-blood and he had once seen a television set at his grandparents house.

They talked about there summers for a good hour before talk turned to the coming school year and their hops. James was adamant about being on the Quidditch team again, he said that this year he had a good chance of being a regular and not just a stand in. He had had been insulted by the position last year.

Peter wondered if their were any clubs he should join but James told him flat out that there was no way he was joining the charms club. Sirius had laughed and when the trolly came around they loaded up on sweets and cakes.

"I wish Remus was here." Peter said, holding up a bar of Hunnydukes' chocolate. "I hope he gets to school okay."

Sirius nodded, he was troubled too by Remus's absence and he could tell James was as well. James became quiet and slouched in his seat, fiddling with a box of beans before throwing them aside and changing the subject.

It was dark by the time they reached the school and Sirius had a brief flashback to when he had first reached the school, it had been much the same only this time he wasn't scared and he had friends. He was in Gryffindor and there was no changing that. The sight of the castle brought a surge of freedom he hadn't experienced for months. He felt a grin spread across his face and had to be pushed to start walking again.

"Get a move on!" James said, shoving him.

As second years the were directed towards a row of horseless carriages. James and Peter let out cries of delight. "Now his is better!" James said. "A lot better than those boats." He picked the nearest one and laid claim.

A few minutes later their carriage door opened again and Lily Evans stood in the door way. James's face split into a grin and Sirius could have kicked him, h looked idiotic.

Her eyes darted over the carriage occupants. "Never mind." She turned away but stopped. "Where's Lupin?" She asked.

"That's what we were wondering." James said.

"Is he sick again?"

"We don't know." James actually managed to look sad through his love-struck dumb expression.

She nodded. "Well, I hope he gets better." She turned and left letting the carriage door slam shut.

They sat back, unhappy again at he absence of tier friend. Sirius looked out the window up at the full moon hanging over the castle and thought that it enhanced the image Hogwarts. He also wondered what the ceiling of the great hall would look like with suck a large full moon over it. His desire to get inside the school walls only increased with the thought.

He was right, the Great Hall looked spectacular. The enchanted ceiling was lit with the light of a huge, glowing full moon. It eclipsed the stars' light and cast a strong white light over the four house tables and the staff table.

They didn't pay much attention after the first twenty minutes of the sorting. It had been interesting at first and Sirius dearly hoped that he had not been as pathetic looking as some of the new first years, but about half way through he and James lost interest and started up a small game of nicknaming the first years. So far they had: Stumpy, the name for a very short first year boy, twink, for a boy who's glasses reflected the stars and jumpy for an excitable little blond girl.

Sometime after they had stopped paying attention Sirius thought he saw Dumbledore give them a knowing little smile.

When the sorting ended and Dumbledore gave his speech, they dug into dinner and for the first time in months Sirius ate without getting dirty looks or hearing nasty comments with even nastier subtext directed at him. He was glad to be back ta school surrounded by friends and school mates. He slouched in his seat and was loud, he told jokes and made other people choke with laughter. The only thing that brought his evening down was Remus's absence but he did his best to put t from mind end just enjoy himself.

James was attracting a following from several first years as he recanted his Quidditch triumphs. They listened with rapt faces and he lapped up the attention. Several older student gave their first hand accounts and one of the chasers from the previous year gave him a mack on the back ad said he'd see him again this year.

The feast went spectacularly and by the end of it, Sirius's memories from the Summer were beginning to feel distant. He had had such a good time and so many things had happened since he had woken up he didn't have time to think about the summer.

At the Slytherin table Regulus was siting with a large group of older students looking like a smug little prince. Sirius had watched his sorting and hadn't been surprised when the hat had called out Slytherin. The only thing that had give him any kind of shock was that it wasn't immediate. Regulus had looked nervous, he'd contained it well but Sirius had seen but as soon as the hat had called out Slytherin he'd given the hall a smug smile and pranced off to join the rest of the Slytherins.

Dumbledore's speech was brief and friendly and much the same as the previous year's. He gave warnings about the the forest and of where students were allowed to go, he also warned the first years that no matter what stories they hear, flying lessons were to be taken seriously. James and Sirius exchanged looked at that and nearly burst with pride.

And then t was up to the dormitories which now bore a little plaque reading 'second years'. James took a moment to look a it with pride. Their trunks were waiting for them and as they changed, Sirius looked out the window again up at the moon, it was so bright ad full in the sky. The light spilled across the room and fell on Remus's empty bed. Again he wondered what had kept his friend and hoped he would be back soon.

James threw himself down dramatically and propped his head up. "Anything interesting out there?" He asked.

"Nah, just looking at the moon."

James nodded and turned away to fish out a book. "So, you glad to be back?" He asked.

"Couldn't be more."

Sirius climbed into bed and stretched out, he really was happy to be back.


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning was a rush, Sirius dressed and headed down to breakfast, racing down the stares with James and beat him to the Great Hall by seconds. "Bit slower on the ground, aren't you?!" He teased.

James gave him a shove and they both toppled through the doors and into McGonagall. She stumbled back and let out a cried of indignity. "Potter, Black!" She cried. "Do watch where you're going." From the stack of papers in her arms she whipped out their schedules and handed them over. "I trust you can find your seats with out any more collisions?"

They each gave her a salute and she rolled her eyes as though she already had a headache.

"What do we have today?" James asked, skimming over his schedule. He made a face. "Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts in one day? What are they trying to do, kill me?"

Sirius nodded. "Disgusting." He put his schedule down and looked for Remus but he wasn't there. "How long is he usually sick for?" He asked.

James thought for a minute. "'Bout two to three days at most. Some nights he's only gone one."

He nodded, still unhappy.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here soon." Peter said helping himself to eggs.

Slughorn wasted no time in potions telling them that first year was baby stuff and this year hey would be working ten times as hard, then he gave them a review quiz and took a nap.

Sirius and James finished early after sharing their answers with each other and then letting Peter copy. They spent the rest of the class playing a card game in the back of the room. Sirius caught a nasty look form Snape who had evidently not gotten over the previous year. Petty Git. He thought.

Next it was out of the dungeons and into the brightly light greenhouses outside. Sirius, James and Peter all raced to get outside, forcing their way through the masses and shoving people aside.

Professor Spout gave them a stern look mixed with good humor. "Excited for class, are we boys?"

"Oh yeah!" James said. "Nothing gets me going like the thought of daisies in the morning."

"Or lilies." Sirius said out of the corner of his mouth.

James elbowed him and tried to march past Professor Sprout but was stopped. "Well," She said, missing Sirius's comment. "If you two boys are so keen on Herbology, then you can carry these pots in."

James's face fell and Sirius tried to back away but it was too late. Professor Sprout loaded them up with heavy pots and directed hem towards the greenhouse. Peter came scurrying along and was son delivered the same task.

By the time class started their robed were ruined but at least after they were finished Professor Sprout awarded them each three points.

The Huffelpuffs they had class with were friendly and Sirius and James made friends with several they had not bothered to speak with before, even going back up to the caste with them for lunch.

Halfway through lunch the doors opened and to all of their' relief, Remus came to sit with them. He was thin and sick looking and instantly took to a large plate of ham sandwiches.

James let out a cry of delight and gave him a half hug, acting as though he was almost afraid to hurt him. "Where have you been?!" He asked.

Remus chuckled. "I was sick, I couldn't make it to the train."

"Are you feeling better?" Peter asked, brow knit in concern.

"Oh yeah, I feel much better." Remus looked nervous and James and Sirius exchanged worried looks.

After lunch they hurried on to charms and then to Defense Against the Dark Arts, finally wrapping up their day at dunner. None of them could get any more out of Remus about his absence or his sickness and eventually he grew irritable with them and told them to stop or he would leave.

That night they sat in the common room talking, it was good to be back and good to be sitting next to the fire, surrounded by friendly chatter and happy voices.

They had taken out their homework and were trying to get at least a little done. Sirius had scribbled a small character of McGonagall in the corner of his Transfiguration homework. After sizing it up, he decided to tear it off before turning in. it really wasn't worth seeing her explode over.

They kicked back and James looked out the window, up at the moon that was still full. "Hey," He laughed. "Doesn't it still look like a full moon?" He asked.

Sirius looked up and shrugged. "A little."

"A little?! It completely does! Right Remus?"

Remus fidgeted. "Well, I guess." He looked away from the window and stared at he fire.

"I think I does." Said Peter, voice sounding a little unsure as he looked at Remus.

"Something wrong?" Sirius asked.

"Ah, no. I think I might still be a little sick maybe." Remus shrugged. "I don't know." He gathered up his homework and concentrated on finishing the rest of his Charms review worksheet.

James sat back and crossed his arms, pushing his homework dangerously close to the fire with his toe. "Well, take it easy then." He said, looking unconvinced. "I'm done. School isn't worth killing myself over."

Sirius laughed and followed suit, packing up his papers as well.

They sat in silence, James flipping through a magazine and Sirius playing exploding snap with Remus and Peter who it turned out had gotten quite good over the summer.

Eventually the common room thinned and people began slipping off for bed, leaving Sirius and the others alone with just a few older students.

"I won't ask you anything again," James said, looking up from his magazine at Remus. "But I'm glad you're back. We all are."

Remus smiled, and Sirius thought it was one of the most genuine smiles he had ever seen.

"Thanks." Remus said. "Thanks a lot."

Then James gave a strong nod and stretched. "Well, I'm tired. Off to bed. Night everyone."

Sirius watched him go and then packed up his things and followed, leaving Remus and Peter to finish their game. "What's up?" He asked, catching up to James in the dormitory.

James set his things down and sighed. "I'm beginning to think I might know what's wrong w ith Remus." He said.

Sirius set his books on his bed and sat down. "And?"

James played with the water glass on his bed side table before answering. "I-I'm not saying I know for sure. It's just a guess and everything could be a complete coincidence but isn't it kind of weird that Remus always gets sick around the full moon? I've thought it before but you know, I can't prove it. Last year he almost always got sick on or around the full moon and this year, the start of term was on a full moon and he was sick during it and that's a big thing to miss."

Sirius felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "You think Remus might be a werewolf?" He asked, saying the last word so quietly was almost unsure he'd said it.

James made an odd, jerky gesture half between shrugging, nodding and shaking his head. "I'm not saying I know anything but it makes sense. That's why I brought up the moon earlier and you saw how odd he acted. I think we should go to the library tonight."

"Library's closed, mate." Sirius said.

James shook his head, eyes flashing mischievously. "Not for those who have an invisibility cloak." He extracted it from his trunk and tucked it under the bed covers. "Tonight, you and me are going to do a bit of late night studying.

Sirius nodded, excited about their first escapade but also worried. "Hey," He said. "No matter what we learn, can we wait until the next time Remus gets sick to ask him anything?"

James nodded. "Yeah, I think that would be best."

They climbed into bed and waited for the others to get in.

As soon as they were sure the other boys were asleep, Sirius and James crept out and after slipping on the cloak, climbed out of the portrait hole. The Fat Lady skwacked as she always did and warned them of detention but they ignored her, having more important things to do.

The library was dark and empty. Sirius thought it was creepy and hoped that Peeves wasn't anywhere near. The last thing he'd heard on the little mad man was that he was trapped in an empty class room by Flitwick after the professor had caught him trashing his classroom.

The made their way to a section on magical illness. James light his wand and threw the cloak aside. "Look for anything moon related." He said. "Maybe he's not a. . . you know."

Sirius nodded and began scanning books. A Lunar Illness Chart, 100 ways to know you're sick by consulting the stars, Celestial diseases and how they Happen. "Any of these look good?" He asked.

James nodded and sat down with his own books. "I really don't know what to look for." He said.

"Well, what are his symptoms?"

They both thought hard. "I don't know, he just goes to the hospital wing every month and then disappears." James said at last, closing the book. "These can't help us if we don't have anything to go on."

Sirius took one last look at the book he was reading before closing it. "I guess we just have to wait for next month." He said.

The stewed in silence for a minute, both unhappy before returning to bed.


	23. Chapter 23

They didn't tell Remus or Peter about their night time visit to the library. One, they weren't sure how Peter would take it and two there was absolutely no way they were going to tell Remus what they knew until they were sure.

Remus seemed normal and over the coarse of the week he was just the same as ever. Despite this, Sirius and James kept up their suspicions and watched him closely.

But they were quickly distracted. There was a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher named Professor Trimmell, she was a middle age witch who'd recently retired from being an Auror. Sirius was a little thrown off when she didn't start class with a roll call, instead giving them assigned seats and learning their names that way. He started to dislike her however when she moved him all the way across the room from James and the others.

The first few days of her class were hard hitting and with no friends to distract him, Sirius had nothing to do but pay attention. Trimmell had a quick method of giving lectures and then firing off rapid questions to people. Several times he got the questions right and received somewhat of an approving look from her.

But as the days passes, he and James got more creative. They had taken to bewitching notes across the class room or discreetly changing seats when the professor wasn't looking. Trimmell caught them changing seats repeatedly and each time sent them back to their original seating but she some how failed to notice most of the notes.

Besides having to become more creative with passing notes, Sirius and James had earned the wrath of several Slytherins who had not found it funny when they were jinxed from around the corner.

Once when they had almost been cornered by the Slytherins they had darted into the nearest bathroom, completely ignoring the fact that it was a girls' restroom.

"But-" Peter had started.

"Relax!" James said, pressing his ear to the door to see if the Slytherins were gone. "The sign says out of order. Nobody's going to come in."

Remus looked around the room. "It looks fine to me." He peered at the commodes for a moment before shrugging and sitting against the wall.

James apparently couldn't hear through the door and gave up, sitting down and kicking back. "Anybody want any snacks?" He asked, opening his bag.

Sirius sank down next to him and nodded, looking around. "Never been in a girls' bath." He said. "Bit cleaner than ours."

James laughed and handed him a box of crackers. "Yep."

Remus reached over and took a handful. He was just about to bring them to his mouth when he dropped them. Crackers spilled all over the floor.

"What's with you?" Sirius asked. Remus was looked towards the cubicles with wide eyes. He followed his eyes and dropped the box. Floating above the green cubicles, looking furious was the ghost of a girl. She glared at them, her pig tails floating just off her shoulders.

"Er. . . hello." Remus said.

She narrowed her eyes which despite being pail and transparent were puffy and red. "What are you doing here?" She asked. "This is a girls' bathroom. You four aren't girls!"

"Uh, well we were just trying to avoid some people." Remus said, eyes wide and mouth open.

She sniffed. "This is my bathroom! Get out!"

Sirius stood up. "Well, we would but we aren't sure those guys are gone yet."

She flushed. "That's not my problem." She looked as though she was about to cry. "People think they can just come in here whenever they want! They don't ever think about my feelings! No one ever thinks bout me!"

Sirius gave James a wide eyed look. "What did I do?" He mouthed.

She rose higher in the air and sniffed. "Go ahead, just stay here! Don't mind me, it's only my home."

"Your home is a bathroom?" Sirius asked before he could stop himself.

She scowled. "Yes, I do! Why don't you just make fun of me already!? I know you want to. "

"No, no! You've got it all wrong!" Remus said, saving the day. "We think it's really cool that you live here. Well, at least I do." He elbowed Peter who nodded.

She gazed at him. "Really?"

"Yeah, really groovy." Sirius said, working hard to bite back the sarcasm in his voice. She shot him a nasty look and floated down to get a better look at Remus.

"Don't lie to me." She said. "I know what people say."

"I wouldn't lie to and I don't know what people say. This is the first time I've met you. What's your name?"

She looked positively radiant that he wanted to know her name. "Myrtle."

He gave a weak smile. "I'm Remus, and these are Peter, James and Sirius."

She gave the others a casual look over, her eyes lingering angrily on Sirius who's mind was working furiously. He had heard the name Myrtle somewhere before. Then it clicked. "You're that crying ghost I heard bout. What do they call you, Moaning Myrtle?" He grinned for a second but his face quickly fell as he realized that he had gone too far.

Her face crumpled and she began to choke. "P-people always come up with the worst, meanest, cruelest nicknames!" She sobbed.

"W-well then we won't call you that!" Remus said, trying to talk her down. But It was too late. She soared high above them, gave Sirius an angry glare and dove straight down into a toilet. Water splashed out everywhere, flooding the cubicles.

Sirius took a few steps back. "Gosh she's touchy." He said.

James burst out laughing. "Haha! Sirius, you gotta learn to keep your mouth shut!" He said. "She's gonna hate you forever!"

He grinned himself and picked up the cracker box which was miraculously dry. "Even if I didn't say anything, she'd still cry!"

They turned towards the door, wanting to avoid another encounter with the ghost and left, heading for lunch.

It was not until Potions that they heard anything more. Lily was talking to another girl and a worried voice. "I don't know why she flooded the bathroom on the second floor, she only haunts the one on the first."

The girl nodded. "I walked in there and it was up to my knees, and there was water all over the hallway."

"You two talking about that Myrtle ghost?" James asked, leaning in.

Lily gave him a nasty look but didn't stop the other gril from answering. "Yeah, have you met her?"

"Yeah, earlier. She got upset with us and ran off."

"Well I don't blame her!" Said Lily. "What on earth did you do to upset her so much?"

"Sirius asked her if she was the ghost called Moaning Myrtle and then he made fun of her for living in a bathroom." James laughed.

"I didn't make fun of her!" Sirius cried.

"You two are really the worst. You aren't nice to anyone!" Lily said. "Even the dead."

"Oh, come on! How were we supposed to know she would throw a big fit?" Sirius asked.

She turned away and began talking to her friend again, ignoring them.

Sirius st back in his seat. "You know, sometimes I think she goes out of her way to be mad at us."

James shrugged and rolled his eyes, still grinning.

"I don't believe you!" Sirius hissed. "You're just glad she talked to you!"

James ran a hand through his hair. "Shut up." He leaned back in his seat, trying way too hard to look cool. Sirius considered kicking the legs out from under him but was stopped by Slughorn's arrival.

The weekend was marked by Quidditch tryouts and James's enthusiasm. Saturday morning they went down to the field to watch him try out and were not at all surprised when he received a place on the team. James flew better than all of the other chaser wanna-bes and capped it off by doing fancy loops around the pitch to show off.

"Good job, mate."Sirius said when he touched down. "Knew you had it in you."

"Damn right I did." James kicked off for another loops around the field before finally giving it a rest. He was more cheerful that he had been since they'd gotten on the train. "I've missed flying." He said. "I can't tell you how much. Dad won't let me go too high at home, even though the back yard is charmed, he's worried that some one will see me and I can't really go fast like this at home either."

Sirius laughed. "Well, save it for the game."

"Heck no! If the captain caught me doing that in a match he'd kick me off the team."

They all laughed and headed back up to the castle, ready for lunch.


	24. Chapter 24

Over the coarse of the next month they did not forget about Remus, no amount of distractions could keep them from the all important task of deducing their friend's illness and after a quick consultation of a lunar chart told them the full moon was in three days, Sirius and James began to watch for signs. They had done some research in the library on werewolves and learned that mood swings came and the person grew restless.

Sirius almost wanted to find out just to be proven wrong but as the days passed and Remus did indeed exhibit these traits, he began to fear for the worst. Jams had grown quiet on the issue. He never talked about it unless he was sure they were a safe distance from other people and even then he seemed at a loss for words.

Sirius himself didn't know what to think. If Remus was a werewolf, and it was seeming incredibly more likely as the days passed, he didn't want it to change his opinion of his friend. He parents had called werewolves animals and dangerous and he wasn't dumb enough to tell himself they weren't dangerous but Remus hadn't hurt anyone, least of all him. He remembered back to a political discussion his parents had had at dinner one time. His father had said that is was a disgrace to pure blood wizards and the magical community at large that the Ministry let creatures like werewolves run wild. He Sirius hadn't thought anything of it at the time, all his life he had been told that werewolves were dangerous but he had never really considered what they were like when they were humans. Remus wasn't dangerous as a human, in fact Remus was more passive than either him of James. He promised himself that no matter what happened in three days time he wouldn't think any differently of Remus.

It came as a surprise to both of them when Peter pulled them aside and dragged them away to an empty class room. His face was red and he looked unsure of himself.

"What's up?" James asked, sitting on a desk.

Peter fumbled with his hands for a moment before looking up. "I think I might know what's wrong with Remus." He said, looking back down at the floor.

James looked at Sirius in surprise. "You do, do you?" He asked.

Peter nodded his head. "I. . . I think he might be a werewolf." His face flushed as though he was expecting to be made fun of.

Again, Sirius and James exchanged surprised looks. "W-why do you think that?" James asked.

Peter bit his lip. "Well, he always gets sick on the full moon and. . . well that's all I have to go on really. But one time Sirius brought up the full moon and he acted really weird. I don't know for sure but I just got a feeling." He looked up at them, waiting to see their reactions but James one leaned back and looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

Finally he sat back up and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, we were kinda thinking the same thing."

Peter's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah we just didn't tell you cause we didn't know how you'd react."

Peter leaned against the empty teachers' desk. "Well, Remus is our friend, right? I mean, he hasn't hurt anyone and we've known him for over a year."

James nodded. "Yeah and he can't help it. Heck, if he got bit then you know, it's whatever werewolf that bit hims' fault. Nobody sane asks to be a werewolf!"

Sirius nodded, he liked hearing James say it, it cleared his own thoughts. "I'm not gonna blow him off."

James grinned. "If either of you do, I'll kick your asses and if I do, I want you to do the same for me."

"You don't have you ask." Sirius said with a grin.

They waited the three days and sure enough, when the full moon came, Remus took ill, disappearing to the hospital wing for the night.

As sure as they had been, Sirius and the others could not help but feel a little bit of dashed hopes when they saw his empty bed.

They stayed up that night in the common room talking. "How should we tell him we know?" Peter asked, laying on his stomach on the floor and building up a card castle.

Sirius folded his hands behind his head. "I dunno. We should do it on a weekend."

James nodded. "And definitely not around people. It's okay if we know, we're his friends but if other people found out, who knows how they'd treat him. What if we get him to go for a walk with us this weekend? We take him too the far side of the lake or something and tell him."

Sirius thought bout it. "That could work. Do you think he'll be mad at us?"

"What, for figuring it out?"

"Yeah, do you think he'll be mad we pried into his business like this?"

"Maybe but we kind of had to we're his friends." James shrugged. "We already know so he can't do anything bout it."

Sirius nodded. It was true, they did know and they couldn't un-know. "I feel kind of like just tore apart his personal life."

James nodded but said that it was too late. "I wish he hadn't thought he had to hide it from us. I wouldn't care if he's a Leprechaun."

"Now don't go that far. If he was holding gold out on us then I'd be pretty mad."

James and Peter laughed. "True. But I mean, did he think we'd leave him? It's not his fault he's werewolf, we aren't gonna hate him for something he can't help!"

Sirius nodded. "I know."

James sat back in his seat for a moment before getting up wearily and shaking his head. "I'm going to bed."

"Night."

The next morning, Remus came back to class late as usual and it was Transfiguration which meant that there was no time to talk, Professor McGonagall kept them busy and the most they could manage was a 'hi, how are you?'.

The rest of the week played out normally, for a little while James and Sirius weren't sure Peter would be able to keep the secret but he proved quite adept at keeping secrets. They were actually impressed. But they kept putting off actually talking to Remus, Sirius was afraid he would be angry with them and none of them wanted to admit that they had been snooping through his life but one Sunday afternoon James plucked up the courage.

"It's nice out." He said. "Lets have a picnic." He lead the way down to the kitchens and from there they tramped around the lake to a shady spot on the far side. James threw himself down at the base of a giant oak tree and played with a stone before looking up. He opened his mouth and Sirius thought for a split second that he would tell Remus what he knew but instead he asked to be thrown a sandwich.

Sirius leaned against a rock and crossed his legs. He glanced at Remus and then out at the lake. "Nice weather." He said.

James's eyes flickered towards him for a split second and Remus gave him a confused look. He instantly realized how strange his words sounded and shut his mouth.

James finally cleared his throat. "You know, I've been putting this off." He said. Sirius looked up, waiting. James took a moment before continuing. "Well, actually, we've been putting this off. We didn't know how you'd react." He rubbed his hands on his pants, wiping away the crumbs from his sandwich before looking at Remus. "Remus mate, we know what you are."

Remus's mouth fell open a little bit before he closed it and swallowed. "What do you mean?" He had gone very pale.

James threw the rock he had been playing with into the lake. "We all figured it out, Peter even did on his own. We figured out why you leave every month. We know what you are."

Remus shook his head. "I don't-"

"We're not stupid and you can't have believed you'd be able to hid it from us forever. But it doesn't really matter to us so you worried for nothing." James looked away as though he had said all he was willing to.

Sirius nodded. "You know, you could have told us." He took note that James had never once used the word Werewolf. "You being a werewolf doesn't change anything. I'm still gonna ask you to do my homework." He cracked a little grin hoping Remus would too but instead Remus sank down in the grass and leaned against a tree.

"How long have you known?" He asked weakly.

"A while now, we guessed but we never really were sure until you disappeared last full moon." James said, he looked a little guilty.

Remus nodded. "You knew and you still wanted to be around me?" He looked stunned.

"Sure, it's not like you're dangerous when its not the full moon." Sirius said. "And besides, it doesn't change who you are. You're still Remus Lupin."

Remus made an odd grunting sound and covered his eyes. "I've never told anyone before."

"Well you didn't tell us, we sort of figured it out on our own." James said.

Remus nodded. "Yeah, you didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"Heck no!" Peter cried, almost indignant at the thought. "And we wont."

"I don't know how you all can be so calm about it. I could kill you!"

James shrugged. "We trust you and wherever you go every month keeps you from harming us so we don't have any reason to be afraid."

Sirius nodded. "Yep, by the way, now that we know, do you think you could tell us where you go?" James sat up eagerly.

Remus sighed. "I should have known, nothing fazes you. I could grow another head tomorrow and you lot would just pretend it had always been there. You'd probably try and convince me it had."

"Well now there's a thought." James said. "Have you ever wanted to be poly-headed? Think fo the advantages."

Remus gave him a defeated grin. "No." He chuckled wearily.

"Just an idea, so are you going to tell us where you go?"

"Alright. You know, I didn't think I'd be able to come to school when I was little. I didn't see how, I was too dangerous. My parents always tried to tell me that I was just like other people but I always knew that with even the simplest of mistakes I could kill someone. They knew too but they're positive people. Anyway, my father was determined that I had to go to school so he wrote the headmaster and asked him if there was anything that could be done. We heard back about a week later, Dumbledore had written back saying that he had come up with a solution, he figured that I just needed to get away from people once a month and he told us that he had created a secret hideaway for me."

"But where is it?!" Peter cried.

Remus paused. "You have to promise me that you won't ever go there, at least not while it's a full moon. Especially when it's a full moon."

They nodded and agreed all around.

"There's a little house outside Hogsmead, the locals have started calling it the shrieking shack, they think it's haunted, and there's a tunnel going from Hogwarts grounds to it."

James was nearly vibrating with excitement. "Where?!"

"Under the Whomping Willow." Remus pointed across the lake to where the willow stood but he didn't look at it."

"I've heard of the Shrieking Shack." Peter said. "Some one told me that a really nasty bunch of ghosts moved in there."

Remus shook his heads. "No ghosts. Only a werewolf."

"So we've solved a mystery." James said, clapping his hands as though it had all been good fun. "The Mystery of Remus Lupin."

Remus looked down at his hands. "Thank you." He said.

"For what?"

"I thought if you ever knew you'd stop talking to me. Most people would."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know if you noticed mate, but we're not most people."

Remus looked up and smiled. "No, you're not. You know, my father was so happy when he met you guys at Diagon Alley. He was so happy that I made friends, even if you didn't know what I was. And I was too."

James clapped him on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, the only way we'd stop being your friends is if you turned out to be some kind of Death Eater but I don't see that happening."

Remus gave him a smile and Sirius thought that there was something new behind it, something a bit more Remus.


	25. Chapter 25

With the secret out, Remus was a bit looser, he laughed a little more easily and his stories seemed a bit more believable, he had wanted to apologize for all the lies he had told about his sick mother but James wouldn't let him, he said that they didn't matter and there was nothing to forgive Sirius couldn't make himself be angry either and calling him out on lying seemed to be the last thing on Peter's mind as well.

Somehow, meddling in Remus's personal life had only bonded their friendship and made it stronger, they were bound together now by a secret and it was like being part of a club, James had begun organizing midnight excursions around full moons so that Remus was never left out, by night they traversed the castle and grounds under the invisibility cloak and after only a month Sirius was sure they knew more about the school than most of the teachers, they found secret passage ways that cut their time getting to class in half but somehow still managed to be late and they discovered rooms that had been untouched in decades. It was all a sort of fun, unlike any other, there was something exciting about being out of bed past curfew and being the only ones out and about, they had the whole castle to themselves and with the invisibility cloak, no one could stop them. They spent whole classes planning adventures and mapping them out, Remus proved to be very good with maps and remembering where things were and that was when James came up with the idea to create a map of the whole school. At first they had just laughed at him, it was impossible and besides, parts of the school moved but James reasoned that that was where magic came in and after a while of him bringing it up at ever available opportunity they agreed and began a lengthy process of mapping the school in their free time by sections.

But this slowly was pushed to the back of their minds as their teachers began piling on work and as the Christmas Holidays drew near.

Sirius had already made plans for the Christmas holidays despite a very strongly worded letter from his parents demanding he com home. He and James were all set to spend the holidays at school, James had said he wanted to see the decoration and Sirius had just not wanted to leave. Peter had said forlornly that he had to go and Remus was still waiting to hear from his parents. He had written a letter both asking to stay and telling them that his secret was out. He had put off telling them for quite a while but eventually given in and written, it had been a long letter and then Sirius and James had both added extras at the bottom, assuring the Lupins that the secret was safe with them and also wishing them a merry Christmas.

Sirius had not replied back to his parents; he had an elaborate and not at all convincing story to tell them after the holidays when they would write him demanding a reason as to why he hadn't been on the train. He was entertaining a story in which, like a good son he had gotten on the train full of hopes to see his beloved parents but halfway to London, the train had been besieged by a pack of hypogriphs and he had been carried off back to the castle. In the story, he was only one of a handful of survivors and his parents shouldn't complain about his absence since he was lucky to be alive at all.

James had told him it was a wonderful story and any mother would instantly forget her displeasure after learning her son had faced such peril.

Lily Evans had overheard and told him he ought to just tell her the truth and it was horrible to lie to his parents like that. Sirius had just shaken his head and laughed. "You don't know my mother." He had said. "If this happened she'd want to know why I let a damn hypogryph take control like that. She'd say: You're a Black, why didn't you turn that horse-bird around?" James had laughed and Lily had shaken her head and walked away.

Sirius received another letter from his parents less than a week before the Holidays, this one was more troubling than a simple summons home. This one was about his cousin Andromeda. It was an angry one written by his mother though eh guessed parts of it had been dictated by his father.

"Dear Sirius, While we know you were fond of your cousin Andromeda, we must insist that you cease all contact with her as she has recently announced her engagement to the mudblood Theodore Tanks. She has brought shame to her family and her actions will not be condoned, she will be disowned and any children she and the trash mudblood have will not be part of our family. Take warning from her, if you go down the same path you will face the same fate. You will be disowned and expelled from the family! Your brother has been sent a letter as well, although I don't have o tell him these things, he has a good head on his shoulders and knows to stay out of trouble. I really do hope you learn from your cousin and amend your ways before it's too late.

Sincearly, your mother, Walburga Black."

Sirius folded up the letter and tossed it into the common room fire. "You know, it's my cousin getting married. It's her she's mad at, I don't see why this has to be about me."

"Your cousin is getting married?" James asked. "The one who graduated last year, the Slytherin?"

"Yeah her, she's marrying her Huffelpuff boyfriend. My family is disowning her for it."

"Harsh." James said.

"Yeah, my mum just told me this was a good lesson to me." He looked at what remained of the letter in the grate. "Guess I should just marry a cousin like my mum did."

"That's a problem with pure-blood families today." Remus said, looking up from his magazine. "If they want to stay pure-blood they have to inter-marry."

"Well I'm sure as hell not doing it." James said.

"Me neither" Sirius grunted.

"You sure you don't have a hot cousin stashed away somewhere though?" James teased.

"Lay off, just the thought makes me wanna puke." Sirius said, thinking of Bellatrix in particular. He shuddered at the thought and then settled down in front of the fire and began writing a note. "I'm gonna tell Andromeda Congratulations." He said.

"Tell her from me too." James said, not looking up from his potions essay.

"Will do."

Sirius didn't think any more about the letter, he had gotten stories before about relatives who had strayed from the pure-blood path before and the only difference now was that it was in his time and not his great-great-great something or others. But evidently, his brother had taken it to heart and confronted him a the breakfast table.

"Did mum write you about Andromeda?" Regulus asked, marching up and only giving a small nod to James and nothing to Peter or Remus.

"Good morning, lovely weather, no I don't think it will rain, yes I passes my last Transfiguration quiz, flying colors! Thank you for asking." Sirius looked up at his brother. "Those are all the answers to all the questions I will answer."

Regulus scowled. "Never mind, I know she did but are you going to do what she says and shape up?"

"Shape up?" Sirius said the words with disgust. "I'll shape up when you get your head out of your ass and stop doing everything she says. Did she tell you to do this? Did she tell you to come over here and bother me? You know, I hear Gryffindor is contagious, you had better be careful or you might catch it."

James leaned forward seriously and in a grave voice said: "Symptoms may include but are not limited to: strong feelings of loyalty, courage, Chivalry, daring nerve and for God's sake, if you start feeling brave of heart, head for the nurse and don't look back!"

He and Sirius broke out laughing and Remus added: "A preference to red and gold come with it."

Regulus glared at them, clenching his jaw. "I'll tell her that I couldn't find you." He said.

"You do that and when you go up to the Owelry, would you mind sending off my congratulations letter to Andromeda? I would hate for it to arrive after her wedding."

Regulus opened his mouth as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Can you read?!" He said. "Didn't mum warn you what would happen if you kept acting like this?"

Sirius noted a tiny hint of panic in his brother's voice but wrote it off. "Listen, you've got a brain, why don't you think for yourself for once, Andromeda doesn't deserve this! All she's doing is getting married."

"You know it's because of who she's marrying."

Sirius leaned forward and looked his brother right in the eye. "Have you met him? Did you know mum misspelled his name in her letter? She called him Tanks His name is Ted Tonks and I bet you every Gallion, Sicle and Knewt in Gringotts that you've never even seen what he looks like."

Regulus straitened up defensively and drew in a breath. "I don't know why you have to act this way, all you do is upset mum and dad."

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, if that's the worst thing I ever do to a family member then we're all in luck." He raised his eyebrows, hoping Regulus would get the message which he apparently did as he turned promptly away and stalked off.

"Oh, Sweet kid!" James said mockingly. "You must be so proud."

"You've no idea." Sirius said darkly. "He'll probably end up making prefect or something too."

James made a sad noise. "Such a shame."

They turned their talk to Christmas and Remus opened a letter telling him he could stay for the holidays and that his parents were so grateful to them all for sticking with him that they would send them all presents. Sirius had thought that that was a great outcome and it was only then that it occurred to him that he probably would not be receiving any presents from his parents this year. He was only mildly troubled by this. Not that he didn't like 'things' and not that they were bad presents, but he could live with a few less. And anyway, he had decided not to come home this year, it was his fault.

James finished his breakfast and they headed to class, Sirius thought blandly bout all the trouble he would cause for himself but found that he really didn't care, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

The following week they said goodbye to Peter and Sirius, James and Remus settled themselves in in the common room. The Christmas Holidays were officially there and it was strange to have the whole school move from study to celebrating. The whole school was relaxed and largely empty.

They spent a great deal of time in the Great Hall watching the Christmas decorations go up, the huge groundskeeper Hagrid lugged in gigantic Christmas trees and then tiny professor Flitwick decorated them.

On the second day of their watching, Flitwick invited them to help decorate so long as they didn't smash anything and Sirius and James both promised that in the spirit of Christmas they wouldn't do so, although it was very tempting.

Decorating was more fun that Sirius would have guessed, he had never done so at home. It was always Kreacher who did the work and sometimes Regulus who for some crazy reason liked the elf.

When the decorating was finished, Professor Flitwick awarded them each three points and added an extra point for their fine and for once appropriate use of the levitation spell.

James was very pleased when he learned that Lily Evans had stayed, he called it a Christmas present and Sirius had almost thrown up.

Over the first few days they took to wondering around the school, occasionally accompanied by Nearly Headless Nick who was morose even during holidays, but they didn't mind, he told them interesting stories and even showed them a few secret passage ways they hadn't known about previously.

One of the passageways however had lead directly to the Headmistress's office which had not ended well when they'd come tumbling into McGonagall's office. She had been furious and had sealed up the passage with magic and deducted ten points from Gryffindor.

Sirius received a letter three days after break from his parents. His mother had sent a howler and it had gone off at breakfast screaming that he was a rude, nasty boy.

"How dare you disobey your parents?! We gave you strict orders to return home! You are a nasty little boy and you had better be glad we haven't come up to the school to retrieve you! Your brother tells us also, that you sent a letter to Andromeda, CONGRADULATING her! I expressly forbade you to do so, of all the rude, nasty, impudent children in the world, you may be the worst. Does it make you happy to know you've upset your mother? Does the idea of your parents shame make you smile? He tells me you also still associate with that Potter boy, and after the sight of your friends and their parents in Diagon Alley, I can honestly say no mother has ever been more ashamed of a son."

The letter tore itself up and the shredded bits floated down into his porridge. Sirius stared at them for a moment before realizing that with so few of people at the Hogwarts, the whole school had heard the letter, including the staff, several members of which were looking down at him in curiosity. He bushed his porridge to the side and got up, feeling they eyes of he Great Hall follow him out.

There was a scuffling behind him as James rushed to gather up his things and follow but he held up a hand, ignoring the stares. "I'm just going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

He walked quickly out the door and to the nearest bathroom, locking it magically behind him. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, looking at himself in the mirror. A sort of grim satisfaction ran through him as he stared into his own gray eyes. If his mother had complained before that his hair was too long she'd have a fit when he cam back for the Summer. He ran his fingers through his hair again and sighed, before turning on the faucet and splashing water on his face, school day or not, it was too early for this.

He returned to the Great Hall and grinned ignoring the renewed stares and the small amount of whispering surrounding him. He plopped down right in his seat and pulled himself up a plate of eggs. "So, what are we thinking of doing today?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't know." James said, kindly ignoring the howler all together and looking down the table at Lily. "Do you wanna borrow some brooms and go down to the Quidditch pitch?"

Sirius grinned. "Sure, sounds fun. Do you wanna bring in a few more people?"

"I don't see why not?" James turned to a group of boys down the table. "Any of you lot interested in a game of Quidditch?" He asked.

Several of them yelled out replies and an hour later they ad a game underway, so blissfully engaging that Sirius forgot the letter all together.


	26. Chapter 26

It was two days before Christmas that Sirius got a call down to the Headmaster's office. He and James had just hexed a sixth year Slytherin boy from around a corner, making his nose turn blue and swell up. He and James had run off in the opposite direction and come face to face with Slughorn.

"Ah, Mr. Black!" Slughorn said, swinging an arm around both of them. "I was just looking for you. The headmaster wants to see you in his office." Slughorn smiled and then peered around the corner. "Merlin's beard, what is going on over there?"

Sirius shot James a worried look and shrugged. "Thanks professor." They hurried off, leaving the mess before it could be traced back to them.

"What do you think Dumbledore wants you for?" James asked, as they slowed to a walking pace a safe distance away.

Sirius shrugged. " I don't know. I haven't done anything. . .Have I?" He tried to think. "I mean, we did make it snow in the charms corridor yesterday but no one knew that was us."

James shrugged and sat down against the wall outside Dumbledore's. "I hope not. I'll wait here."

Sirius nodded and ascended the stair case, stopping to knock on the headmaster's door. After a moment he was told to come in.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, a large book open in front of him. He closed it and smiled. "Ah, Mr. Black. I take it Professor Slughorn gave you my message?" Sirius nodded and Dumbledore smiled again. "You know I told him to find you two days ago, it must have slipped his mind."

Sirius stood awkwardly, not sure of what to say and dying to know if he was in trouble. "Oh." He said dumbly.

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "On to business. I couldn't help but over hear the howler you received a few days ago." His face darkened and he became more serious. "Is everything well between you and your parents? Your mother sounded very angry and some of the things she said were. . . troublesome." He gazed at Sirius intently. "This is not the first howler you've received and your father has written the school numerous times."

Sirius felt his face heat up. He hadn't known that. He swallowed. "Sorry about that." He mumbled.

"It's quite alright. Many parents were displeased by my appointment as headmaster. However, recently, both of your parents wrote letters asking for you to be sent home after you missed the train. I assumed you wished to stay for the holidays and told them is was quite impossible without them coming to the school personally."

Sirius was stunned and his mouth fell open. "You did?" He asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "Was I right to assume you'd rather stay at school?"

Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Yeah! Deffiantly. Thanks."

"However, it might be in bad taste for me to continue meddling in your family affairs. So, I'll ask again: Is everything well between you and your parents?"

Sirius paused before shrugging. "My mum was just stressed, they had some trouble with my cousin."

"Ah, I believe she's getting married."

He was startled. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Miss Black made a public announcement about it in the Daily Prophet."

Sirius nodded. "Oh, well yeah my parents weren't happy about her getting married to a muggle-bron."

Dumbledore's eyebrows came together. "And what did you think of it?"

Sirius shrugged. "I dunno, I liked him. I don't have a problem with it."

Dumbledore had a very strange smile on his face. "I imagine that that's a very different opinion form what your parents have."

Sirius grimaced. "Yeah, but we don't agree on a lot of stuff."

Dumbledore laughed softly. "Well, if you're sure that there's no trouble between you and your parents, then you may go."

Sirius turned towards the door and was about to turn the knob when Dumbledore called out his name. "Oh, and Mr. Black, one more thing." Sirius turned around. Dumbledore smiled and tapped his finger against his nose. "No more. And tell Mr. Potter the same. I would hate for anymore students' holidays to be ruined by a stay in the hospital wing."

Sirius felt his jaw drop and nodded. "Oh, sure." He mumbled.

"That's all, enjoy your holidays."

Feeling awkward, he backed out of the room and ran down to where James was waiting, staring down the caretaker's cat Ms. Norris. "I'm gonna turn you into a bloody bucket." He heard James say.

Sirius snorted. "I'm done. What are you doing?"

James watched the cat slink away. "I think Filch set his cat on me. It's been sitting here since you went up to Dumbledore's office." James jumped to his feet. "So what happened?"

Sirius shrugged and put his hands behind his head. "It was about the howler my mum sent."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Wanted to know if there was anything wrong."

"What'd you tell him?"

"Told him she was just mad about my cousin."

James nodded and turned a corner, steering them towards the Owlry. "Well, I suppose it did get a lot attention and she didn't really say the nicest things."

"Yeah, Dumbledore said she's written the school about me before. I dunno what he wants me to do about it. I can't make them stop. My parents weren't pleased when he became headmaster. You should hear some of the things they say about him at home."

James looked at him. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, my dad hates him. Says he's a muggle-loving fool and a whole bunch of stuff." Sirius shook his head. "I dunno though, I don't really think he's a fool."

James nodded. "My parents are all for him."

Sirius felt something odd stir and he began to wonder just how different the Potters were from his own family. James's parents had been very kind when he'd met them and there was just something naturally likeable about them. He felt a little bit jealous. They were fun and easy to talk to.

As they neared the Owlry they ran into Remus who had just finished mailing off his Christmas presents.

"There you are!" James said, slinging an arm round his shoulder and causing Remus's knees to buckle. "Been looking for you. You'll never believe what we just did to that Sixth year Slytherin Morrison. You know, the one with the really huge ears?"

Remus laughed but a noise made them turn around and James released Remus.

Snape was just leaving the Owlry with Lily Evans. "I knew that was you, Potter." He said, his eyes shooting to Sirius who instantly hoped for a chance to hex Snape. "And Black, you're always together."

James grinned. "Well aren't you a fine detective?" He said. "Careful, Sirius, he's on to us."

"I'm not too worried." Sirius said. "I think I can handle a slimy little git like him."

Snape flushed. "Watch yourself Black." He hissed.

"You wanna get the same as Morrison got?" James asked, hand creeping towards his wand.

Sirius intervened. "I think the spell would be wasted. We might turn his nose blue but I doubt we could make it any bigger." He said.

Again Snape flushed. "What did the headmaster want you for Black?" He asked. "Are you finally getting in trouble?"

"The opposite, we had a nice chat about what a greasy little zit you were and he gave me permission to hex you as much as I wanted. Called it community service."

James laughed. "What about me?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, you're a given."

James grinned. "So what do you say, Snivellus, fancy a make over?" He whipped out his wand and twirled it around tauntingly.

"James Potter, if you do so much as one hex I'll jinx you into oblivion." Lily said, stepping forward.

Sirius sniggered. "What, now you have to have a girl fight your battles?" He asked.

"Oh, shut up Black. Honestly, you two are the worst boys in Hogwarts!" She grabbed Snape by his arm and dragged him away.

Sirius watched them go and then raised his wand and shot a tripping jinx at Snape's back, it hit him dead on, making him fall flat on his face, he let out a loud yelp as he hit the ground.

James laughed loudly and clapped Sirius on the back. "What's the matter Snivellus, did you fall down?" He called out.

Sirius lowered his wand smugly and grinned. "Shake it off, man."

Snape rose to his feet slowly before whipping around and aiming a hex strait at Sirius's head. The spell whizzed by, slicing Sirius's cheek open before hitting the wall and leaving a black burn spot.

Stunned, Sirius put a hand to his cheek and came away with blood. He knew it wasn't a deep cut but there was something burning about it that made his face feel irritated. "What was that?!" He yelled. He looked towards James who had his wand out and was glaring at Snape.

"Stinging hex." Snape said proudly. "Your face is gonna swell up huge."

While his attention was diverted, James aimed a jinx at Snape tat hit him in the stomach, causing him to fly backwards.

"Oh, stop!" Lily cried angrily as Snape got back up to his feet, panting.

"You'll pay for that." He snarled, pointing his wand at James who raised his own, glancing towards Sirius who's cheek was swelling rapidly. Flipendo!" He yelled, there was a flash of light and James went hurtling backwards against the wall, cracking his head.

Sirius aimed his wand at Snape but was having trouble seeing out of his right eye because of the swelling in his cheek. He squinted trying to focus his wand and fired a hex, making Snape drop his wand to avoid it. He scampered to the ground and picked up his wand, pointing it t Sirius.

"Sev, stop. Just leave them!" Lily yelled, cutting in and grabbing Snapes arm. He gave them a last, nasty look before following her.

Sirius put a hand to his face, the swelling had slowed but it was very painful and throbbing. "I aughta-" He started.

Remus stopped him. "Let it go, you need to get to the hospital wing, your face looks really bad."

James stood up, rubbing the back of his head. "Ow, hey Sirius mate, are you okay?"

Sirius nodded grumpily. "Lets just get to the hospital wing before someone sees my face" They made their way through the school towards the hospital wing, blowing off several questions and ignoring the people who were staring.

Madam Pomfry was furious when they couldn't tell her what happened. She bustled around, muttering aloud and occasionally snapping at them that she knew a stinging hex when she saw one and they were lucky she didn't go and get a teacher. "Been dueling, I expect!" She hissed, pushing Remus aside to get a better look at Sirius's face. "This is the holidays, can't you behave for the holidays?!"

Sirius winced as she jerked his head up at an awkward angle and pointed her wand at him. He felt the swelling start to recede and relaxed, poking at his cheek when she was finished. She then shooed him out of the chair and ordered James to take his place. She forced his head down and examined the back of his skull. "Bruising." She muttered, again pointing her wand at his scalp and muttering a few words before throwing him out of the chair. She looked expectantly at Remus who shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm fine. It was just these two." He said.

"I don' suppose you can tell me how this happened?" She asked, mouth thinning.

He shrugged and shook his head. "No ma'am. I found them like this."

She gave him a look that said she didn't believe a word of it. "Oh I'll bet."

They were ushered out of the hospital wing and into the hall, each receiving an angry glare before the doors were slammed shut.

"Great bed side manner." Sirius said, still rubbing his cheek to make sure it was okay. It felt normal but one could never be too sure and there was no telling if Snape had hit him with something nastier than your average stinging hex.

Remus shook his head and the three of them headed on down to dinner. There were so few people that they had most of Gryffindor table to themselves. After shooting Snape a malevolent glance, James turned his back and struck up a conversation. "I already sent my presents to my parents and Peter, did you guys send out your stuff?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah, you caught me after I finished earlier. What about you, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, I sent mine." He had gotten his friends Troll size boxes of their favorite sweets and even and elf size box for his brother.

They grinned and James started giving out hints that his presents would be the best.

"You said that last year." Remus pointed out. "I don't think you get to give the best gifts two years in a row."

James pretended to push him out of his seat. "Blasphemy." He cried.

Sirius laughed, Christmas was in two days and he was excited, he was sure Hogwarts would have an excellent feast prepared and a cheery atmosphere with friends would be a welcome change from the gloomy austere cloud that would have been waiting for him at home. The way he figured it, Christmas was a time for celebrating, and his mother's controlled air of decorum was not at all how it should be.

"You know, next year, we should get together at my house." James said enthusiastically. "My parents would love the company." He elbowed Sirius to show that he was namely inviting him.

"You sure that would be okay?" Sirius asked.

"Sure, I mean, I'd have to ask them but I'm sure they'd be okay with it."

Sirius grinned, feeling very good about next year's Christmas as well.

"And if not, then we can just stay at Hogwarts again."

"Sounds great." He said, finishing off his pumpkin juice and leaning forward, slouching over the table. "What do you think the school does to celebrate?"

Remus shrugged. "Aren't they already? Look at the trees."

Sirius cast the trees a thoughtful eye, they were wonderful to look at, not that his family had had scrappy trees but these just didn't have rivals. "Guess you're right.

James yawned and stretched. "I dunno about you two but I'm heading up to bed. Getting slammed against that wall really knocked the wind out of me." He gave another nasty look in Snape's direction and got an equally nasty look returned.

They headed up to bed with the full intent of sleeping but found themselves several hours later camped around the fire place.

The days until Christmas slipped by more quickly than Sirius expected and before he knew it he was sitting at the Christmas Eve feast, which was better than he had anticipated. The food was great, the atmosphere was alive and he and James were the center of attention, finding the largest and loudest crackers to pull and making a spectacle of themselves with the contence. Sirius had on no less than five hats and James had found a pair of glasses much more radical than his own and donned them for the night. He said they made it look like it was snowing no matter where he went.

After the feast it was up to bed and even though none of them felt like sleeping, Remus insisted that they must, joking that if they didn't they would get coal.

"You're getting that anyway." Sirius had said to James.

"Not as much as you."? James had yawned.

The next morning Sirius awoke before James and Remus to find a stack of presents at the foot of his bed. Excitement leaped through him and he jumped from his bed to James's punching him awake. James kicked him to the floor.

"Get out, can't a man sleep in peace any more?" James grunted, rolling over.

"Not on Christmas, get up!" Sirius said, rattling the bed posts. James sat up sleepily, took one look a look at his own presents and was suddenly wide awake. "Now this is more like it!" He cried, throwing his pillow at and already awake Remus. "Both of you, open mine first." He ordered.

They did as they were told and Sirius found a box of Filubuster's Fireworks, he grinned, thinking of a multitude of ways he could use them.

James tore the paper off of his gift and laughed, a huge carton a chocolate frogs. "Breakfast!" He said cheerfully, biting the head off of one.

Sirius opened Remus's gift next and fond an assortment of Zonko's products. "Nice." He said, examining them. His uncle had sent him a pocket knife with a letter telling him it could open any lock and he tried it repeatedly on James's trunk and was delighted to find that even Alohomora couldn't stop it. Hi brother had sent him Sweets and Andromeda had sent a large Gryffindor poster with a note thanking him for congratulating her on her engagement. Peter had sent him a pennant-necklace that would grow hot if someone was spying on him, which he thought was actually a very useful thing and to his delight Mr. and Mrs. Potter had sent him a pie.

After going through all of his presents, he was very much aware that his parents had sent him nothing and even though he would have liked to believe that this meant nothing, it hurt just a little. He sat for a second, allowing just a moment of bitterness before pushing the thought from his mind, he hadn't expected anything else and the things he had gotten were far better than anything they could have sent. He forced himself to play with the knife again and distract his thoughts.

James had gotten a pet owl from his father and was letting it jump over his bed, shaking off feathers. "Look at him." He said happily. "Dad said his name was Hector."

Sirius grinned and pulled himself over to the owl, dragging himself away from morose thoughts. He didn't have to think those things, it was a holiday and his parents were miles away and for once they weren't going to spoil his fun.


	27. Chapter 27

The holidays ran out very quickly and sooner than he would have liked, Sirius found himself greeting Peter as he got off of the train. They listened to him tell about his holidays and then told about their own, detailing the fight with Snape and the Quidditch matches in the snow, which James maintained were great fun and then Peter gave them a bit of grave news that darkened the mood considerably.

"My neighbor Mrs. Humphrey disappeared." He said.

James raised an eyebrow as their carriage bumped over a fallen log. "Oh yeah, how come?"

Peter shrugged. "I dunno. She was old and a few days before Christmas my dad got worried cause we hadn't seen any lights in her house for a few a while and he went to check and she was just gone. He said all the furniture in her house had been knocked over too."

Sirius sat back in his seat. "So, did you tell the ministry?"

"Yeah, my dad did and they sent a few people but they couldn't find her and we haven't heard anything more."

James rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Did she have any enemies or anything?"

"Well she was ninety-six, so I don't think so. But my dad said she's not the first person to disappear like that."

They had all heard the stories, it seemed like there was an ever growing amount of rumors and stories about people diapering. Some of the more disturbing ones said a great skull had been seen floating over the person's house. Sirius hadn't thought much about them, they always seemed distant and they never happened to anyone he knew but now Peter had given him a first hand account and it was unsettling. He hadn't known Mrs. Humphrey, and in all likelihood probably never would have but Peter had known her and now she was gone and no one knew where to.

"I over heard my parents talking one night about whole muggle families diapering." James said. "He said it was us making them disappear. You know, Dark Wizards."

Sirius frowned. He thought about Andromeda telling him that Bellatrix was inline with the people making muggleborns and muggles disappear. He felt a twist of revulsion in his gut. He thought about Ted Tonks and how he had seemed like an okay guy and then about the friends he had made during the summer and how even though they were muggles and couldn't do a lick of magic they were still some of the coolest people he knew and he felt anger burn inside hm. Anger at his cousin and anger at the people causing the disappearances and anger towards his parents who all along supported the Dark Wizards.

"You okay, Sirius?" Remus asked.

He started a bit. "Oh, yeah. I was just thinking, was Mrs. Humphrey a muggleborn?"

Peter nodded. "She once told me about getting her letter and how confused and excited she had been. You know, she said she'd been at school when Dumbledore started!"

They sat quietly.

"Imagine that." Remus said in a whisper.

"I hate this." James muttered. "We're not better just because we're pure-bloods. I mean, look at Evans, look how brilliant she is! Who in their right mind would attack a ninety year old woman?!"

Sirius nodded, thinking about his parents and how much they would disagree.

"But a lot of wizards think they are better." Remus said.

"You know, it's the same thing." James said. "Look how they treat werewolves!"

Remus paled. "Keep your voice down." He looked out the window nervously. "I'm not going to lie, I am dangerous, it's not totally irrational to be afraid of a werewolf."

"It is when you're human." James retorted.

Remus paused. "True, but we are some of the most dangerous creatures in existence. You'd be a fool to pretend otherwise."

"Again, only when you're not human."

Remus nodded. "Okay, I'm not dangerous when I'm human but you can't pretend that there's not something wrong with being a werewolf."

James crossed his arms. "You didn't choose to be one, it's not your fault."

Remus shrugged. "All I'm trying to say, is that I may not like the way people act about my kind but I can understand."

Sirius brushed his hair back. "I can't. You're one of the best people I know, you're a hell of a lot smarter than me and ten times better behaved."

Remus smile a little. "I don't think I have to try very hard to be better behaved than you."

Sirius grinned, feeling a little more proud of his bad behavior than he should have.

They pulled up in front of the school and climbed out. Peter looked up at the school and then around at the snow covered grounds. "Good to be back." He said.

James nodded and helped him with his things up to Gryffindor tower.

Classes resumed two days later and Sirius was bombarded with work. Teachers insisted that the work load was for the up and coming exams which James bitterly noted were months away and this was nothing short of a crime. They had several more encounters with Snape, some of which they initiated and some of which Snape himself started. Between classes and watching their backs for Snape or any of the other Slytherins who seemingly had it out for them, their days were full and their nights were as well, what with planned excursions and midnight roamings.

Snape had evidently let slip that it was James and Sirius who had hexed the Slytherin Morrison and Morrison had been very displeased. He and a gang of sixth years chased them down and Sirius and James had had to duck into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom yet again. She had been very happy to see Remus again, if not so happy to see Sirius.

Sirius had tried not to laugh at her but when she hinted that she would have liked to go on a date with Remus he lost control and asked if he was planning on taking her to a different bathroom. Myrtle had been furious and started up a rant about how rude he was and what a bully he was and how Remus didn't deserve to have such awful friends.

They had left the bathroom soaking wet but laughing uncontrollably and with a very angry Myrtle speeding them along their way.

The days passed quickly and Sirius found himself in detention more than once, usually for small things, he had hexed a student or made it rain in the Astronomy tower or once placed a hurling jinx on the Slytherin team's practice brooms but James was usually with him which made it much less of a detention.

Before they knew it the Easter Holidays had come and they had another break, this time all of them stayed at school. Sirius noticed his younger brother had returned home and could only think about what a suck-up Regulus was.

When the Easter Holidays had passed they were faced with exams and an inhuman work load but towards the end of the year they were given a set of classes to pick electives from for the following year. James complained loudly that none of the classes were interesting and he didn't want to take them.

Sirius pointed out that Care of Magical Creatures would not be too bad and they all agreed to sign up for it.

"Ghoul Studies looks interesting." Remus pointed out.

James made noise that said he wasn't entirely discounting it.

"We could take Divination." Peter suggested.

"Peter, honestly that is the worst idea I've eve heard." Sirius said.

"Not necessarily," An older boy said, passing by. "The teacher is eighty-seven and barely knows where she is. It's a really easy class."

James shrugged. "Doesn't sound that bad, what do you guys think?"

Remus was still looking thoughtfully at Ghoul Studies. "I don't know, maybe."

Sirius looked at Divination with disgust and then at Ghoul Studies. "I know one thing, I'm sure as heck not taking Athithmancy."

Peter nodded vigorously.

James snapped his fingers. "Here's how it's going, I'm signing up for Divination and you guys can sign up for something else if you want."

Remus shook his head. "No, I'm taking Ghoul Studies." He signed his name on the notice board under 'Ghoul Studies' and stepped back.

Sirius signed under Care of Magical Creatures, followed by other other three. James looked over the board again and wrote his name under Divination and then with nothing else to do, Sirius and Peter copied him. "I can't believe I'm doing this." Sirius said.

"At least it will be an easy class." James said.

The exams passed making the Summer holidays loom ever nearer. Sirius frowned as the days sped by. Most of the school was looking forward to the holidays and seeing their families again, even James was eager to see his parents and get home but Sirius dreaded it. He knew that once he was home the days would not pass as quickly and he would be cooped up in his parents dark old house.

James was sympathetic and said that he would try and talk his parents into letting Sirius stay over but Sirius knew that that was a two way street and there was simply know what his parents would let him stay over at the Potters'.

On the final day Sirius sat morosely in the common room, thinking of every way possible to not get home. The least drastic of which was jumping out of the train window. James told him that that plan of action would probably kill him.

"I swear, we'll see each other this summer." James said. "It won't be like last time and we'll write each other too."

Sirius nodded, he knew all this and he knew he would write Remus and Peter and he had the two-way mirror. "Yeah, and we'll definitly meet up in Diagon Alley again."

James nodded. "Yeah."

Sirius shrugged, there was nothing he could do, sitting in his dormitory sulking. He thought it was better to go out and enjoy the rest of the day.

He and James headed down to the Quidditch pitch with Remus and Peter and several other Gryffindors and two Huffelpufs for a friendly game that was lazily over seen by madam Hooch and watched by a few students and even some staff members.

Afterwards they headed to dinner for the end of term feast and Sirius lost himself in the celebration, he enjoyed it even though the cup had gone to Hufflepuf which he thought was the most ridiculous thing in the world but as James pointed out, at least it wasn't Slytherin and Sirius had to agree.

The next morning they dragged their feet getting on the train but once on, relaxed. The train was comfortable and they wasted what money they had left on sweets and it was only when Regulus knocked on the compartment door that Sirius's mood was dimmed. "What do you want?" He asked.

Regulus shifted, his two friends behind him looking curiously into the compartment. "We were just looking for an empty compartment." He said.

Sirius snorted. "Well as you can see, this one if full."

Regulus looked around, taking in the empty seats. "Whatever." He said, turning.

Sirius returned to his sweets, not at all perturbed. "So I was thinking, I could use floo powder to visit you guys."

James grinned. "That'd be great, only you'd have to do it at night so that your parents don't catch you!"

Peter popped a fizzing whizby in his mouth. "That's really clever." He said.

Sirius nodded, knowing it was.

James straightened up in is seat. "You could spend the night and no body would ever know! Or w could take the invisibility cloak out and I could show you my neighborhood or we could. . ." He trailed off, seemingly dreaming off all the mischief they could do.

The train lurched forwards, leaving Hogsmead station and they settled back. "My parents may want to talk to you three at the station." Remus said.

"I'm good with that." James said.

They spent the rest of the train ride telling jokes and laughing and shooting off spells and even threatening to hex Snape again which lead to an almost confrontation but was diverted by Lily dragging Snape away.

James was boisterous and loud and they soon had a large number of people in their compartment, listening to his stories.

As they neared platform nine and three quarters, their guests returned to their compartments and Sirius and James calmed down. "My parents are gonna want to say hi to all of you." James said.

Sirius grinned, although he had only met them a handful of times, he really liked the Potters, they were good people and the longer it took for him to get home, the better.

The train ground to a stop and they grabbed up their things, they had all taken the liberty of bewitching their trunks to be feather light before even getting on the train, James had his new owl Hector's cage propped on top and strode confidently off the train, pushing people aside, Sirius followed after, glancing through compartment windows to see who was on the platform.

James spotted his parents and waved to them, dragging Sirius along whole Peter and Remus went to find their own.

Mrs. Potter gave James a hug and kissed his cheek and then pulled Sirius into a looser, but no less heart-felt hug. "How are you, boys?" She asked.

James grinned. "Great, mum."

"Did you have a good year?" His father asked.

James and Sirius both nodded. They talked animatedly for a moment, each interrupting the other to finish stories and to make sure the other left out the more incriminating bits. They were half way through a story about Moaning Myrtle when they were interrupted by Remus tapping them both on he shoulder.

"Sorry," He said. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

Mr. Potter shook Remus's and and then his father's. "Nice to see you again."

Mr and Mrs. Lupin smiled and then shook Sirius and James's hands. "We wanted to thank you." Mr. Lupin said. "For staying friends with our son."

Mrs. Potter looked between them all. "Did something happen?" She asked.

Sirius shook his head but didn't know what to say. He caught Remus's eye and was waved away.

"Your son and James found something out about me that I thought could jeopardize our friendship but thankfully I was wrong."

Mrs. Lupin smiled in a happy but worn out way. "You have a very good son." She said.

The Potters both looked confused.

"James can tell you but I don't think it's a good idea talk about it here." Remus said, smiling. His eyes shot to James, evidently worried that he had made a mistake in giving permission for the Potters to know. James winked and nodded.

"I think we had better get going, though." Mr. Lupin said, checking his watch.

Remus hugged them both and waved. "I'll write!" He called back as he began to make his way through the crowd.

Sirius and James both waved exuberantly and yelled goodbyes, attracting attention from the people around them.

"Calm down!" Mrs. Potter laughed.

They started to make their way over to a set of benches when Sirius spotted his father. He contemplated pretending he hadn't noticed and was about to do so when his father started making his way towards them. He turned to James. "I see my dad."

James looked through the crowd. "Oh yeah, see ya mate."

They hugged and then Sirius shook hands again with the Potters and got another hug from Mrs. Potter before he turned and made his way towards his father. "Where's Regulus?" He asked.

"I already took him home. It's too much trouble to do side along apparition with two people." Mr. Black said.

Sirius nodded. "Okay." He held out his arm and felt himself being jerked along in the wake of his father's apparition.

He grunted as his feet hit the pavement outside number 12 Grimmauld Place. His father waited a moment for him to get his bearings before ushering him inside. "You had better stay out of your mother's way." He said. "She's sick and tired of getting letters from tire of getting letters from the school saying you've been in detention."

Sirius shrugged. "What can I say, they're out to get me."

His father gave him a cold look that said that in no way did he find it funny.

Sirius could already hear his mother and Regulus in the parlor talking excitedly. She sounded happy and pleased. Sirius felt a stab of disgust. He pulled his trunk up the stares noisily and headed to his room, eventually throwing it at the foot of his bed and then slumping down. The Gryffindor banners Andromeda had made were still on the walls, apparently no one had been able to get them off, the thought of his mother trying to tear them down with her bare hands made him smile. His room was clean which told him Kreature had been in over the year and he looked around with narrowed eyes, not putting it passed the elf to go through his things just to have something to report to his mistress. But everything seemed to be where his left it and really, other than a few muggle records, there was nothing his mother could complain about.

He settled himself down on the bed for a long summer. Closing his eyes against the grating sound of his mother praising Regulus down below and the thought that sooner or alter she wold have something to say to him.


	28. Chapter 28

The first few days of summer were a drag. Sirius found himself darting into spare bedrooms to avoid his parents and brother quite regularly. Regulus had quickly run off to visit with a cousin and left Sirius alone, not that he particularity wished to see his brother but it left him with his parents full attention.

Early on his mother chewed him out about all of the detentions he had received and if that wasn't bad enough, she spent a full hour berating him over Andromeda and for not coming home for Christmas. Sirius had finally lost his temper when she'd started going on about his friends and calling them blood traitors and trash. He had yelled back and started a screaming match so hideous that even Kreature had run from the room.

He had finished off by trying to storm out the front door but was stopped just in time when she fired a blast, sealing the door magically shut.

He had escaped through the kitchen and back up to his room where he spent the remainder of the day, refusing to come back down even for dinner.

Eventually though, he found his way outside and went to see if Denny and his friends were still around.

He found Alice on the front steps, talking to a boy he'd never seen before. "Hey." He said.

She looked at him, puzzled for a moment before breaking into a huge smile. "Sirius!" She got up and hugged him. "You've gotten taller. Is school over already?" She held him at arms length, clinking with her jewelry and still smiling.

He laughed. "Yeah, ended a week ago."

She guided him to the steps and her friend got up and went inside. "You should have visited sooner!"

"Well, I had some trouble finding time."

"Oh well, you're here now and I'm happy to see you. It's a shame, Denny works late now and you probably won't be seeing much of him."

"What about Sean?"

"He hasn't been here for a while but you never know with him. So tell me about school."

Sirius told her stories, leaving out details about magic and other wizarding things. He told her about his cousin and her getting married and she was happy for him although she didn't seem to quite understand why his parents objected and he told her an edited version of Remus and she had applauded him for staying friends with him.

When he ran out of things to tell, she told him about Denny getting a factory job and Sean taking a bike tour of France. He loved her stories, they weren't magic and some of the parts he didn't understand but he still appreciated them.

Her friend came back and introduced himself as Jimmy and Sirius had a laugh because he couldn't ever imagine James calling himself Jimmy. They talked for a while longer and as the sun set and Sirius got up to go, Alice gave him one last hug and said she would tell Denny he had stopped by.

He made his way home, feeling calmer and less angry than he had all summer. There was something wonderful about being with happy people like Alice and Jimmy and Denny. They all seemed so content with life and at peace, though he thought that that might have had something to do with Jimmy's 'special cigarettes'. He glided home, taking his time and enjoying the sunset. He wasn't even annoyed when he saw his front door, instead he merely shrugged to himself and turned the knob. He drifted inside, not looking at the elf heads on the wall or the ugly troll leg umbrella stand that his great aunt whatever had given his mother several Christmases before.

For some reason he didn't feel like being angry at all. He sat through dinner and didn't fight, in fact he didn't say much all meal and then he went upstairs and wrote James about his holidays so far and asked what he was doing and then sent a similar letter to Remus. He thought about sending one to Peter but in the end figured that he didn't actually care all that much and Remus was sure to write him so he wouldn't feel left out.

He lay back on his bed and yawned, it wasn't time for sleep yet but he was drowsy. He had almost closed his eyes when a scratching sound on his window disturbed him. Outside was a large barn owl, it hooted softly, clicking it's talons against the window. He opened the window and stood back, letting the bird hop around on he sill. It hooted once more before sticking out it's leg for him to retrieve the message attached.

He unfurled it. The first line read:

"Dear Sirius, you are invited to attend the wedding of Andromeda Black and Theodore Tonks." The rest of the letter was written in much less neat handwriting and he recognized it as Andromeda's. "Dear Sirius, Ted and I would love it if you could come to our wedding. I know your mother would object but Uncle Alphard is willing to take you in for a week and let you come. Ask your mother if you can spend a week with him and then you can come in secret. With love, Andromeda soon to be Tonks."

He smiled and rolled up the letter. It was a stroke of good fortune. He just had to think of a way to ask his mother. It was pointless to try and curry her favor, she as already convinced that everything he did was to undermine her authority and at least this time she would be right but he would be damned if she was going to stop him. He thought about his father, his father probably wouldn't be keen on the idea either but he was friends with Alphard and that was a plus. He decided that he would ask the next morning. He sent the owl out the window and hid the letter in one of his school books.

The next morning at breakfast, Sirius was careful to keep in both his parents' good graces and tried his utmost not to sneer at his brother. It was not an easy task. Everything Regulus said made him either want to vomit or hit him. After breakfast he stretched ad looked surreptitiously cross the table at his parents.

"Hey, mum?" He said.

She gave him a small irritated look. "Don't say 'hey' it sound uneducated."

Inwardly he could feel his teeth grind. "Right, sorry. I was just wondering, could I spend next week with Uncle Alphard?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Has he invited you?"

"Well, no but I thought you could ask him."

She frowned. "You can't ask to be invited to someone's home, it's rude."

Again, he felt a jolt of irritation. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to see him. He's my favorite uncle."

"And what's wrong with my brother Cygnus?" She said absently, reading the paper.

Sirius grit his teeth, he knew she was just looking for a fight. "Nothing, I just like Alphard. I've got nothing against Uncle Cygnus, I just get on with Alphard more." H decided to draw out of her trap and give a stupid reason. "He always gives me the best Christmas presents." For a second he wondered if she would ht the ground running with that one and start yelling about him not coming home for Christmas again but instead she just sipped her tea.

"I'll talk to him."

"Thanks cause I'd really appreciate it. I haven't seen him in a while."

She looked at him suspiciously. "I didn't know you felt so close to him."

He almost threw out that at least Alphard had sent him a Christmas present but stopped himself. He felt he had made progress and didn't want to ruin it. "I dunno, like I said: we just get on."

She frowned a moment before raising her paper again. "It would be good for you to see more of your family."

He swallowed but when nothing else was said, excused himself from the table and headed up to his room. He wrote Andromeda, telling her that he had asked and prospects looked hopeful and then thought about a gift. He wasn't really expected to get her anything, he was only twelve, well almost thirteen but he wanted to, her getting him out of his parents' house, even for a little while was a miracle.

He thought about it for a while before deciding he would go and ask Alice, she was a girl, a little older than Andromeda but she might know.

He slipped out and found Jimmy smoking on the fronts steps. Jimmy grinned and waved. "Looking for Alice?" He asked. Sirius nodded. "She's in the kitchen."

Sirius popped in and found Alice at the kitchen table sewing. She smiled and waved a hand to the seat next to her. "How's life?" She asked.

He grinned. "I need some advice."

She nodded, pulling a thread through. "What on."

"What do I get a couple for their wedding?"

She paused and set aside the pants that were quite obviously not hers. "Well, you've got to take in the facts, how old is the couple?"

"Just out of school."

She nodded. "Young couple, just starting out hmm. A radio would always work."

"I think they've already got one of those."

"Well, you could get them a plant. They might like that. Do either f them like to garden?"

Sirius thought about that. Some kind of magical plant might be good. Andromeda might like that. "Well I don't know about gardening but my cousin might like that."

"The one your parents were bent up over?"

"Yeah."

"They're letting you go to her wedding?"

"Er, no it's kind of a secret I've worked out with my cousin."

Alice's eyes sparkled. "I love secrets. Well, I'd go with a plant. But that's just me."

He nodded. "Yeah, I think I will." He looked at her sewing. "So what's this?"

She smiled. "They're Denny's, he tore them up at work." He looked around the kitchen and sat back. "If you want something to drink, there are cokes in the fridge." She said, picking back up her mending.

"Thanks." He went and got one and sat back down, Alice had on what he remembered was a television set and he watch a cartoon mouse as it was chased around by a cat. For some reason he found himself rooting for the cat.

Alice finished up her mending and watched with him for a little bit, resting on her elbows. She smiled and laughed whenever the cat got whacked across the face with a frying pan and Sirius had to admit that it was pretty funny.

After a while Jimmy came back in and got himself a coke and said he was heading off to work and Alice kissed his cheek, he shook hands with Sirius and winked and left. "So how long has he been around?" Sirius asked.

Alice shrugged. "A month or too. He came not long after Sean left. I was kind of glad, I get lonely with Denny off at work."

For a moment Sirius felt bad for her and thought that he should probably visit more but she smiled and laughed. "I always love how creative these shows can be. I know it's the same thing every time but I just can't help but love them."

He looked back at the television set and smiled, leaning back and wondering what his mother would do if she ever saw him in a muggle house with a muggle woman watching a muggle television program. She would probably have a heart-attack. The thought made him smile.

Apon his return home he was pleased to be informed that his uncle could indeed take him for a week and that he would be leaving the following afternoon. His mother hadn't been all that happy, she had narrowed her eyes suspiciously, doubting that anything that could make Sirius happy was good. He ignored her and went up to pack.

He was thrilled, sure his uncle probably wasn't thrilled with Andromeda marrying a muggle-born but he wouldn't be evil bout it and Sirius had always gotten on better with him than anyone else in the family. He couldn't believe his mother was allowing it. She must not have known it was the week of Andromeda's wedding. It occurred to him that none of his relatives had even mentioned the wedding making him think that they didn't know. It was a secret wedding and he loved the idea.

He wondered a little if he could take James and quickly wrote a letter to Andromeda asking. James had liked her and she had seemed to like him.

The response came about an hour later, Andromeda had been thrilled by the idea and had warned him not to let on to his parents. She warned him that if he did he was risking his uncle as well and he thought that she didn't really need to point it out to him but didn't argue the point in a letter, merely thanking her and saying he would see her soon.

The next morning he awoke extra early, he was excited and hopped out of bed, not bothering to dress before heading down to breakfast.

His mother cast him a disdainful eye as he entered the kitchen. She was already dressed and made up, even at such an early hour. She always was, she didn't believe in being seen in an representable state, even among family and she certainly didn't believe any children of hers should be seen in such a state either but he didn't care.

"I hope you have better manners when you stay with my brother." She said crossly.

He ignored her and buttered a piece of toast. "What time am I leaving?"

"Two O'clock."

He pouted, that was much too long a wait. "Alright." He grabbed his toast and made to head up the stares but was stopped when the first three stares slipped out from beneath him. He slid back down and frowned, looking back at his mother who he knew was the cause of it. "What?" He asked.

"Don't eat in your room. You'll get crumbs everywhere." She said, not looking up from her paper.

"Oh please, if I do then I'll just make Kreature clean it up. It's what he's good for."

She ignored him and he returned to the kitchen, regretting his decision to get up early.

His uncle cam by flew at exactly two O'clock, making his mother smile proudly at his punctuality. 'Oh great,' Sirius thought. 'now she's going to tell me that punctuality is a Black family virtue."

Alphard smiled and kissed his sister's icy cheek with a stiff peck and shook his cousin/brother-in-law's hand and gave Regulus a pat on his head and engaged in polite small talk about life and politics and family and Regulus's schooling, it all took far too long for Sirius's taste.

By four O'clock Alphard stood and after repeating the same gestures he had used for greeting he said goodbye and headed towards he fire grate. "Ready Sirius?"

Sirius jumped, he had been so board he hadn't listened to a word in the two hours he had been forced to sit and listen to the adults ramble on, instead he had mentally kneaded his brain, trying to keep from screaming or running out the door.

He grabbed his packed bags and almost threw them into the fire. He was about to step in and leave when his uncle cleared his throat. "Ahem?" He said.

Sirius paused, wondering what he had missed before realizing that everyone was looking expectantly at him. He slowly turned around and rolled his eyes. He was sure his mother caught the motion for she glared at him. He let his father rest a hand on his shoulder and give him a few parting words and he grudgingly let his mother's cold hard lips press against his cheek and even shook hands with his brother who was looking at him suspiciously but said nothing. "Whelp," He said. "I'm off. See you when I get back." With that he stepped into the fire and was gone.

He found himself spinning in the grate and was spat out onto the large hearth of an even larger library. He looked around, it wasn't much more colorful than his parents' house but it wasn't his parents' house and that was what mattered. He was at his uncle's country home. He waited a few moments before his uncle stepped out of the flames much more gracefully than he had done.

He looked round and spotted Sirius. "Ah,you made it okay. You didn't lose any limbs in a stray fireplace?"

Sirius grinned. "No sir."

His uncle nodded. "Well, your room is the same as last time. Can you find it?"

He nodded and lugged his bag down the hall to the room he remembered occupying on his last visit. It was small and crammed with furniture and paintings, all below par but kept up because they had been painted by a great-great aunt who fancied herself an artist.

He set his bag down by the bed and set off to find his uncle. The house wasn't actually that big, and it only took him a few minutes to find Alphard.

"So," He said, sitting himself down in an arm chair. "Have you talked to Andromeda?"

Alphard looked across the coffee table at him. "I have, she's invited you to her wedding and I won't tell Walburga if you attend."

Sirius nodded. "Are you going?"

"I'm afraid I can't."

He frowned. "Are you mad at her too?"

Alphard hesitated. "I think she could have made a better choice but that's her decision and I won't condemn her for it."

Sirius nodded again, it was more than he could have hoped for from the rest of the family.

Alphard smiled. "You're very different. I don't know where you got it from."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked sharply.

"I mean, you don't think like your parents." Alphard waved a hand. "But then, neither does Andromeda so maybe it's just a change that's taking place in the family."

Sirius thought about it for a moment but couldn't quite understand and didn't want his uncle to know he couldn't so he changed the subject.

"I've got a friend I want to take with me, could he use your fireplace to get to the wedding?"

Alphard stroked his chin. "I don't see why not. Any one I know?"

"James Potter."  
"Ah, I've met his father a few times. Decent man, I can't say that we had much to say to each other but he was a pleasant man."

Sirius felt his heart lift. "Really?"

"Yes, I've only met him twice and both times were very short lived."

He eased back in the seat, feeling much happier than he had in weeks. Alphard smiled and unfolded a news paper and Sirius excused himself to go and walk outside.

James wrote back that night saying that he would love to come to Andromeda's wedding and that if he would give him directions, he would meet him at the wedding. Sirius wrote back with the information and told him he was excited.

Alphard had told the truth when he said he could not attend the wedding, he sent Sirius to Andromeda through the floo network and then rushed off to work and Sirius found himself inside a large castle on a cliff surrounded by busy people doing last minute decorations. He checked his watch and looked towards the grate and then went to find his cousin who was in a side chamber.

She gave him a smile and he admired her gold and white wedding dress. She laughed. "Isn't t pretty?"

He grinned and seated himself next to the door. "Has Ted seen?" He asked.

"No, he keeps saying it's bad luck so he won't look at me." She sat looking in a mirror. "I invited Alphard. Did he come?"

Sirius frowned. "No but he says he's sorry. He says he's busy."

She nodded. "I understand."

Sirius peeked back out the door. "Lot of people out there."

"Friends from school and Ted's family."

He felt a jolt of empathy. He was probably the only person from her family there. "James should be coming soon."

She smiled. "Well, don't you two cause me any trouble."

He grinned. "Some things I just can't help."

She looked back at him and there was something sad in her expression. "Thank you so much for coming, Sirius. I really wanted some one to come. You know, someone besides friends."

He nodded. "I know."

"You know after today, I won't be a part of our family anymore. It won't matter what happens." She put a hand to her forehead, not touching her eyes. Her voice was choked. "I thought I'd made my peace with that but I guess I. . ." She sniffed.

Sirius frowned. "They're bastards for treating you like this." He said.

She smiled and laughed a little, sniffing and straitening up. "You're right and I don't need them here." She leaned forward and gave him a small hug. "Thanks."

He checked his watch. "I gotta go meet James but listen we're gonna sit in the front row and cheer you on."

She smiled. "I said don't make trouble!"

He winked. "Wouldn't dream of it." With that he darted out the door before she could say any more and ran to where he saw James standing looking around.

James had dressed in red dress robes and stood tugging at them, trying to spot Sirius. He jumped when Sirius tapped him on his shoulder.

"Wake up mate." Sirius said. "My cousin is a bit down cause her parents didn't show, we gotta make sure she perks up."

James nodded. "Where is she?"

"Can't see her now, it's almost time for the wedding to start. Come help me get front row seats. They plopped down in the last couple of available seats in the first row and began talking about their holidays. Behind them, the seats filled in until someone yelled for quiet and a small band began to ply in the corner.

Sirius watched as his cousin made her lonesome way up the aisle and smiled, she was looking at Ted with confidence and he couldn't help but feel for them both. She looked explicitly happy.

He and James sat quietly through the ceremony but were the first to start applauding after the two became a couple. He and James cheered so hard that Andromeda's face turned red and Ted grinned widely, holding up his and his new wife's joined hands as they made their way back down the aisle.

The reception was fun and Sirius and James found themselves sitting at a table with Andromeda and Ted, feeling very special to do so. Ted was delighted and Sirius was glad Andromeda had found someone so likeable.

James looked over at the girl who had caught the bouquet at the next table. "Think if I had caught it, Evans would go out with me?" He asked.

Sirius snorted. "No."

James pouted. "Maybe she doesn't like my friends."

"Maybe she doesn't like you." Sirius said.

"I'd know if that was the case." James said, grinning.

"Are you still going after her?" Andromeda asked, leaning over.

"What do mean, still?" James asked. "I'm not a quitter."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

They talked for a bit longer and Sirius found himself forgetting about the summer and his parents and having the best time he could remember since school had ended. He didn't want the wedding to be over and it wasn't even his.

He and James took a walk along the cliff, talking about what it would be like to take a broom on a nose dive down the cliff and weather it was worth it to try it at Hogwarts.

As the wedding began to wind down, they made their way back to the castle Andromeda had rented out and sat outside Sirius didn't want to go back to his uncle's. In a mere two days he would be back at home and he would be stuck in a house that he was growing to hate more and more every day. He wanted to run and shout and get as far away from home as possible. Andromeda's wedding had been a brief punctuation to his holidays. But only a brief one

He looked at James and almost wanted to ask to come over. He wondered if Mr. and Mrs. Potter would mind. He knew his parents would and it wasn't fair to bring that trouble to the Potters. He kicked a rock and sighed.

"Something up, mate?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Just ate too much, you know?"

"Yeah." He cold tell, James didn't believe him for a minute but what could he do? He didn't feel like talking and as the last guests disapperated in the gloom he and James headed back inside for the fire place.

"See you soon." James said. "I'll write you when I'm going to Diagon Alley. Maybe we can meet up then."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, that would be great."

And in a roar of green flames James disappeared. Sirius looked round the room one last time and remembered how happy Andromeda and Tonks had looked and smiled. He could last the summer. He knew he could. He took a pinch of floo powder and stepped into the flames.


	29. Chapter 29

The Summer holidays ended quickly. Sirius again, spent most of them out on the streets or at Alice and Denny's. Towards the end of August Sean came back and Sirius got to ride on his motorcycle. Sean promised that if he got tall enough by next summer, he would teach him to ride it by himself and Sirius found himself considering taking an aging potion just to get a ride in before the end of summer.

On his last day before September first, he found himself with Alice in her back garden. She was planting flowers and Sean was asleep on the back steps. She smiled. "School starting soon?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow."

She took off her work glove and sat down. "Glad to be going back?"

Again, he nodded. "I just wanted to say thanks. With out you guys, I don't think I'd last the summer."

She smiled. "Well we always love having you over."

They talked for a bit and he ended up helping her finish her garden. By the time the sun was setting he was covered in sweat and mud. He looked down at himself. His mother would be furious.

Alice asked him if he wanted to clean up before he went home but he told her no, he would just deal with whatever his mother had to say. It wasn't like she could do anything he was going back to school the next day and he said goodbye for the rest of the year.

The following morning was a rush, Sirius had put off his final packing and had to scamper around to get everything together. His mother had been furious and called him lazy and a slob and then he had delayed even further by calling her an annoying hag and sparking a fight which was only ended by his brother calling and asking for her help. His father stood by the front door for twenty minutes, tapping his foot in irritation and once they were finally in the hall together with their things they disapperated and landed in an alley. He apparently took a little too long getting his feet planted because his mother gave him a sharp push forward and they cut into the crowd of muggle commuters. He took the platform barrier at a run, causing is parents and brother to give him dirty looks and to make a group of second years applaud. He gave a hasty goodbye and was about to pull away when he felt his father's hand close around his wrist. "A word." His father said.

He groaned and stopped. "I'm gonna miss the train!"

"You won't miss the train now listen here. I don't wan to get another letter saying you've hexed another student and gotten detention."

Sirius frowned. "Right I won't hex anyone."

His father's jaw stiffened. "I mean it. I don't want a single letter saying you've gotten in trouble this year. You need to shape up."

He sighed and pulled away. "I'll work on it."

His father was about to say something else when he spotted Peter and ran for him. "Gotta go! Peter, good buddy where you been? Man have I been looking all over for you." He slung an arm around the smaller boy and dragged him the direction away from his father. "How was your summer?" He looked over his shoulder and watched his father cross his arms.

Peter stumbled under the weight of his arm and the abruptness of his appearance. "Well, it was pretty good actually."

Once they were a good distance away Sirius let him go. "Yeah, hold that thought." He said, scanning the crowd.

Peter's face fell. "Oh."

"You can tell me on the train. You're probably gonna tell Remus and James anyway and I don't wanna hear it twice."

Peter looked confused for a moment but eventually decided that Sirius had obviously come up with the better option and went with it. "Okay. How was our summer?"

"Lousy. Tell you about it later."

Peter looked both confused and embarrassed for a moment before James and Remus came into view and they ran towards them, knocking aside children and the elderly alike.

"Hey!" James shouted. Remus waved enthusiastically and Peter puffed to keep up."

After a friendly visit with Mr. and Mrs. Potter they headed onto the train but found all of the compartments already occupied.

"Damn." Sirius said.

Peter looked around, the train had already begun to move forward. "What do we do?" He asked.

James looked into a compartment to their left and knocked on the glass. A skinny first year opened the door. He swallowed. "Can I help you?"

James crossed his arms. "Yeah, you can. That's our compartment. What are you doing in it?"

The boy's glasses slipped down his nose. "We didn't know. . ."

"Well it's ours. We reserved it at the end of last year. Didn't the conductor tell you?"

The boy shook his head and looked back at his friend. "Er, I'm sorry."

Sirius put a hand on James's shoulder. "Let him go, he didn't know any better. We'll just have a word with the conductor about this later."

"Do you want us to leave?" The boy asked.

Sirius glanced at James, pretending it was a hard decision. "That'd probably be best. We have a lot of important work to do. You know, look summer homework and the like."

The boy nodded. "Really, I'm sorry." He and the other boy, also a first year dragged their trunks out and down the hall, looking nervously back over their shoulders.

Once inside James and Sirius burst out laughing. Remus was smiled a little but trying not to and Peter just sat looking amazed.

"I really hope they don't go asking around about this." Remus said.

"Oh, lighten up. If they do, then they'll know better for next time." Sirius said.

James nodded and held up a finger. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."

"Yeah, you two look really ashamed." Remus said dryly.

Sirius brushed his hair back. "Oh, I am. I'm appalled with my self. Really, I'm disgusting."

James nodded. "We're horrible people, Sirius. We deserve hell and torturer and to be eaten by the giant squid."

"I don't think even that would make up for how awful I am." Sirius said, hanging his head in mock misery. "And the disappointment I cause my poor sweet mother."

"Well, at least she has Regulus to make up for your shortcomings. How about tonight we go and drown ourselves in the lake? Maybe the mer-people will have some pity on a couple of poor sinners like us."

Peter and Remus laughed. "I get it you two don't care." Remus said.

"See what I mean, no one believes it when a sinner tries to repent." James said.

Sirius shook his head woefully. "Its a burden we must carry."

"The only burden you two carry is your giant heads." Remus chuckled.

They broke off laughing and moved on to tell about their summers.

"I've never been to a wedding." Remus said after Sirius had told them about Andromeda's.

Peter scratched his head. "I went to my uncle Lew's. He's been married nine times. I've been to three of his weddings but after the sixth my parents said that that was enough and we haven't gone to any since."

"I've been to too many." Sirius said. I have too many cousins."

"I actually haven't been to that many." James said laughing. "All my cousins are old."

They got to talking about relatives and Sirius dropped out of the conversation, he didn't mind talking about Andromeda and sometimes his uncle Alphard and by now they all had pretty much gathered what his family was like but he didn't want to ruin their fun stories.

Eventually talk turned to quidditch and the coming school year and they settled back with snacks from the trolly and Sirius asked if everyone had gotten their Hogsmead permission slips signed and James waved his around and they discussed what they knew of the village, as it turned out, only Peter had been their and only once when he was very small. James said his father had not wanted to ruin it for him when he got to school and Sirius said his parents were embarrassed to take him out in public. This earned a laugh.

"But seriously, I really want to get to Hunnydukes!" James said excitedly, my mum always gets me stuff from there for holidays and it's the best chocolate I've ever had!"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, my uncle Cygnus always sends me and Regulus bars for our birthdays, or at least he used to. I think he still sends them to my brother but I think my mum told him not to give me any anymore." He shrugged, it wasn't much of a loss now that he could buy his own.

"You know, Chocolate is the best way to recover from a dementor attack." Remus said thoughtfully.

They looked at him. "I read that in my book for Ghoul Studies."

"You read your text book?" James asked, looking disgusted.

"Well, I was flipping through it."

Sirius shrugged. "I always look through mine to see if they have pictures." He said.

"Yeah well, at least that's respectable." James said.

Remus rolled his eyes. "My dad writes book on magical creatures." He said.

"So, doesn't that give you an unfair advantage in that class?" James asked.

Remus grinned. "Why do you think I took it?"

They all laughed even though Sirius was pretty sure Remus was kidding. "Yeah well," He said. "We got stuck taking Divination. That teacher better be pretty damn old."

James shrugged unapologetically. "Well I'm sorry for picking an easy class."

As night fell and they neared the castle they changed into their robes and waited, Peter and Remus were playing Gobstones and James and Sirius were staring out the windows, waiting for their first glimpse of Hogwarts.

James saw it first through the trees and alerted the others who's heads popped up as they quickly put away their game. Sirius drew in a breath, happy to see the castle.

After a mad scramble to get off the train and into a carriage, they settled back, thinking about the feast and and seeing the common room and dormitory again. Sirius watched out the window as the school loomed nearer. He had missed it painfully.

Next to him, Remus was doing the same and James was looking out at where the horses should have been talking to Peter about quiddditch. All was right in the world.

They pulled up in front of the school was James took a moment to admire the great oak doors before they passed through. They looked out and Sirius spotted the lanterns from the boats on the river. He pointed to them. "Look!" He said.

James squinted in the darkness and laughed. They watched the boats progress across the lake for a minute before heading on. Sirius found it hard to believe that he was already in his third year.

They found seats in the Great Hall just as the first years were being lead in. There was a new teacher at the staff table, Sirius guess that it was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Maybe the job really was cured.

They watched the trembling firstyears be sorted and cheered for all of the new Gryffindors and booed of the Slytherins, earning disproving looks from McGoneggall. Then Dumbledore stood and gave his speech, and like the rest f the hall they fell silent to listen. What they wanted most was to know when the first Hogsmead visit would be but were disappointed when told it was not for another month. "Like that'll stop us." James whispered. "Not when I've got an invisibility cloak."

Sirius grinned and elbowed him.

"And now, I think the time has come to put aside speeches and long winded stories and enjoy our wonderful feast."

Magically the tables filled with food and Sirius dove in. he had missed Hogwarts's cooking. Not that his parents' was especially bad but this just couldn't be rivaled.

James was talking to a first year happily although the first year looked pale. Sirius leaned in to listen. "Well no, they never did it to me, but then I've never gotten in trouble." James was saying.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, leaning on his elbow.

"I was telling Gideon here about detention." James said. "Sirius, you've gotten detention before. Tell him about how they send first timers into the lake. How long did the mer-people keep you down there for?"

Sirius split into a grin. "Oh, about a week."

The boy's eyes widened. "Really?"

Sirius nodded grimly. "Yeah but I' take that any day after what they do to second timer offenders." James gave a well placed shudder.

"What? What do they do?"

Sirius looked at James and shook his head, hunching over his food. "I don't like to talk about it." He said. "Too horrible. But believe me, I never got a detention after that. I learned my place." He shivered, watching the boy turn a shade green.

James patted him on his back. "They can't touch you now, mate. Don't think about it."

He nodded and cast an eye towards the boy, watching his reaction.

"Say, you aren't a troublemaker, are you?" James asked.

Gideon shook his head. "N-no!"

"Oh, good then. You shouldn't have any trouble."

They turned back to their friends, leaving the terrified boy to spread the rumor on down the table.

"OH, I think this year is going to be very interesting." Remus said dryly.

"Well, we wouldn't want you to get board, mate." James said, leaning back in his seat and rubbing his full stomach. "I have to quite. Someone finish my cake. I'm done."

The feast ended and Dumbledore rose to speak again, giving out all of the usual notices before sending them off to bed.

Gideon hung close to them as they climbed the staircases. He was nervous and jumpy and Sirius thought that they really weren't helping him any. James told him that several hallways lead to torturer chambers and all of them somehow failed to mention the trick step. "Oh yeah." Sirius muttered vaguely as the poor boy sank another few inches into the step.

"Don't just let him sink!" A girl's voice cried out. They turned and saw Lily Evans standing behind them trying to pull Gideon up. "James Potter, you are the absolute worst. I had really hoped you'd grown up this summer." Sirius snickered. "And don't think you're any better, Black. You're just as bad as him! Maybe worse since you're always trying to make your parents angry."

Sirius felt his jaw clench. Normally he didn't feel any animosity towards Lily, but her words made him angry.

Seeing his jaw clench, James sprung forward and began helping her free Gideon. "Now come on, we didn't do this on purpose. It was an accident." He said.

They pulled the boy up and she pushed on ahead. "I'll believe that when centaurs fly."

Gideon stood dizzally on the step for a moment before following her. James and Sirius watched them go. "Don't take it too hard, Sirius." James said.

He shrugged and brushed it off. It wasn't like she had been entirely wrong.

They common room was as grand as ever and the sight of the red and gold tapestries and the roaring fire put Sirius's soul at rest. He was home.


	30. Chapter 30

They had Divination first the next day and after giving wrong directions to a pack of first years they headed off to find the class. It wasn't hard, they had found the room on accident the year before and remembered where it was. I was on the ground floor at the base of a tower filled with Crystal balls and other assorted, future defining instruments.

As promised, the teacher was quite old. She was woman well past ninety with snow white hair and eyes thickly covered in cataracts. She sat behind a desk at the head of the room, looking out over the students.

When they were all there she began class. "My name is Professor Pryor." She said. "I assume you all have an avid interest in Divination or the like or you would not be here." She looked round the room.

Sirius glanced at James and Peter and made a face. They grinned.

"I don't expect many of you to see anything. I have been teaching for seventy years and in my time I have only ever had four students I could say had the gift of fore sight. However, gifted or not, you will learn." She paused and almost seemed to drift off for a moment but jerked up at the last second. "Now, we should get started right away everyone line up and get a tea cup. She made her way to a shelf full of cups, feeling along the stone walls as she did so.

"I don't k think she can see what's right in front of her." James muttered. "Forget the future."

Once they had their cups they listened to her drone on about tea leaves and signs until again, she seemed to fall asleep and had to be awoken by a slightly panicky girl.

Sirius sniggered and began a game of hang man with James and Peter.

When the bell rang they headed to Transfiguration and met up with Remus who had just come from his Ghoul Studies class. "You really should have taken it!" He said. "It's wonderful! The teacher gave us a pop quiz before hand to see how much we knew and I got almost all of it right!"

Sirius put his head down miserably. "Our teacher just slept through half the class. Honestly, I don't think she'll last the year. She's practically dead!"

Professor McGonagall gave him a frown. "Bernadette Pryor is a very old woman." She said. "I would hope you would show a little more respect for your elders."

He sat back, biting his tongue. "Er, yeah. Sorry."

She knew he wasn't really but didn't stress it. "Third year Transfiguration is much more difficult than second year." She said, marching to the head of the room. "It is in this year that we begin stressing the importance of your O.W.L.s.."

James frowned. "They aren't for another two years!"

Professor McGonagall frowned at him. "Well Mr. Potter, if you would rather wait two years and then study the night before the test, you're welcome to do so and you're welcome to fail."

James frowned and she returned to addressing the class.

Sirius snorted.

"Oh, shut up." James said, elbowing him in his ribs. "You got chewed out too."

Remus chuckled. "First day and you two are already getting in trouble."

James leaned forward and rested his chin on his arms. "Had to happen sooner of later."

They made it through the rest of the class, only getting called out again once before the bell rang and they headed to Lunch.

"First day and I'm already dying." James complained loudly.

"I hear you." Sirius slumped down in his seat. McGonagall had given them a long and painful review course that had lasted the entire class. "I didn't sign up for this." He said.

"You didn't sign up period. It's a core class." Peter said.

Sirius gave him an annoyed look and flicked a few of his peas at him. "shut up." He turned to James. "Are you trying out for the Quidditch team again this year?"

"Heck yeah I am. I'm a sure thing too so it won't be much of a try out either." He looked around to see who had been listening. "Why don't you give it a try?"

"I'll pass man, sports aren't my thing."

"Oh yeah, and what is?"

Sirius cast a lazy eye around at the surrounding students. "Girls."

James snorted. "Oh please. I f you were on the Quidditch team, girls would be all over you!"

"Oh yeah? Then how come that doesn't work on Evans?"

James's face fell and he shoveled potatoes into his moth sourly.

"You two are ridiculous, you know that?" Remus asked. "Absolutely ridiculous."

"Hi guys, mind if I sit with you?" A high pitched voice asked.

Sirius looked up to see Gideon, the first year they'd spent the previous day terrorizing. He was looking at them over an arm load of book, fresh faced and wide eyed.

"Sure you can, Gideon." James said, making room for the boy between himself and Sirius. "So, have a good first day?"

Gideon squeezed in. "Oh yeah, it was great. All of my teachers seem pretty nice. Did you know that one of the teachers is a ghost?! My dad told me there were some odd balls but a ghost? That's just crazy."

Sirius snorted. "Yeah. Wait till next year one of the teachers is a Vampire."

Gideon's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he ate professor Smith." Remus said dryly.

The boy nearly toppled out of his seat. "For real?"

Sirius shrugged. "Well, no one's seen Smith since he went off with the vampire, have they? It makes sense."

"H-he doesn't eat students does he?"

James hung his head gravely. "Poor Larry." He said. "I warned him, he shouldn't have made jokes about professor Stoker but did he listen?"

"He nearly got me!" Peter squeaked. "But I got away. I ran into the kitchens and grabbed all the garlic I could."

There was a noise behind them someone was clearing their throat. "Oh stop it. You know there's no vampire teacher here."

They turned to see Lily Evans standing behind them with her hands on her hips. "Quit telling lies to frighten first years."

Sirius made a face. "You just haven't seen him cause you only take day classes."

"Oh, that's stupid, even for you."

He grinned. "Oh God, don't tell me he got to you? Poor thing, probably erased your memory too."

She rolled her eyes and stormed off. "Next time I catch you doing this, I'm going to tell a teacher."

"Well, she's a right little kill joy." Sirius muttered.  
"Oh she's fine, leave her alone." James said, watching her walk away.

Gideon looked between them. "So it's not true?" He asked.

"Oh no, it's true. She just doesn't remember. She hasn't been the same since she had detention with him."

"Poor girl." James added.

Gideon teetered nervously in his seat and looked up fearfully at the staff table. Sirius and James both crammed potatoes in their mouths to stifle laughter.

Potions was a fun affair. Slughorn was jovial and towards the end of class invited Sirius and James both to attend a back to school dinner party. James noted he'd invited Lily and looked over at her hopefully.

"I believe I went to school with one of your relatives." Slughorn said musingly to Sirius.

He grunted. "Oh yeah, I bet you did."

"And I had your cousins. Lovely Narcissa and vivacious Bellatrix and of coarse no student ever gave me a run for my money quite like Andromeda did. Pity I hear she's had a falling out with the family."

Sirius shrugged and tried to creep away from Slughorn, not interested in hearing more praise about his cousins.

"And Mr. Potter, that was some fine flying last year, It's really a pity you weren't put in Slytherin, we cold have used a man like you!"

James shrugged and grinned but Sirius could tell that he was trying hard not to make a smart remark. "well, you know. My family is always Gryffinfor."

Slughorn threw an arm around Sirius. "But Mr. Black here's family is always in Slytherin. In fact, you may be the first Black in history to be a Gryffindor!" He shook his head at James as though it was some great tragedy and released Sirius who smoothed down his hair and straightened his robes. "I expect to see you both at my dinner party Saturday." He walked away, quite pleased with himself.

Sirius shook his head. "Yeah, 'vivacious' isn't the word I would use to describe my cousin." He muttered.

"It's like he's recruiting!" James moaned, rubbing his temples. "Trying to make more Slytherins!"

They both laughed and darted out of the classroom, heading for lunch.

Remus and Peter were waiting for them. Peter looked a little hurt that he hadn't been invited but Remus merely laughed when Sirius mentioned it. "I've heard stories about his Slug Club. I'm not sure it would be my kind of thing."

"What have you heard?" James asked curiously.

"Well, it sounds kind of pretentious, if you ask me."

Sirius groaned, that was the last thing he needed in his life.

James shrugged. "Well, I'm going. Evans got invited and I wouldn't want her to be lonely."

"You're just getting desperate." Remus sighed.

James waved him off and shot a glance down the table towards Lily who was turned around in her seat having an across the room conversation with Snape. He glowered at them sourly.


	31. Chapter 31

The night of Slughorn's dinner party, Sirius caught James trying to smooth down his hair. "I'd shave it off for you, if you think it'd help." He offered.

James glowered at him and abandoned the attempt. "Whatever, I just don't want Evans to think I don't try."

He rolled his eyes exasperatedly and took off for the portrait hole. "Don't worry I don't think anyone has ever thought that."

James elbowed him and they climbed through, giving a final wave to Remus and Peter. "You think he might have invited Remus." James said wistfully. "I mean, he's just as good as we are."

Sirius put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't like all the class he misses."

James nodded. "I hope that's it. I mean, Slughorns' okay and all, eve if he is head of Sytherin, so I don't want to hate him but I really hope it isn't because of Remus's problem, you know?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. He never said how many of the teachers knew."

They fell into silence before turning a corner and spotting Lily Evans. James ran forward to catch up to her and fell into stride beside her. "Evening Evans. You sure look nice." He ran a hand through his hair, grinning like a fool.

Lily cast a cold eye over him. "Thanks."

"I'd forgotten you'd been invited. You Excited?" Sirius groaned, this was bad, even for James.

"Yes, a little. I've never been to a school party." Lily tucked her hair behind her ear and smoothed her dress. "But I hear that Slughorn's parties are always fun and interesting so I'm not worried."

James nodded fervently. "Yeah, an older student once told me he had the mummy of Ramses over."

Sirius laughed a little and Lily gave him a curious look. "I heard Professor Slughorn mention that all of your cousins had been to his parties, did they ever tell you anything?"

Sirius thought back, he could remember Bellatrix bragging loudly about how she was a favorite of Slughorn's but failed to remember what exactly she had said. "Er, they might have said something but I don't really remember." Truth was, he had ignored most of Bellatrix's stories, they had always been punctuated with things like: 'I can't believe he let that mudblood Harrington attend.' and 'I almost didn't go, too many blood traitors and mudbloods.'.

Lily nodded and spotted a group of Ravenclaw friends up ahead. "I've got to go, bye!" Se hurried away and James sighed.

"I think that was the best conversation you two have ever had and it didn't even end in her calling you a git." Sirius joked.

James shrugged and ran a hand through his hair again, making it worse than it already was. They neared the empty classroom Slughorn was using and heard the unmistakable sounds of chatter and clinking glasses. "Here goes." James said, knocking on the door.

"Come in, come in!" Cried a voice from inside and they stepped in to see Slughorn and half a dozen other students seated a a table laid out for supper. "Wonderful to see you boys!" Slughorn said. "We were just waiting for the last to arrive! Sit down, sit down."

Sirius and James chose seats farthest away form Slughorn and looked around, they were both disgusted to see Snape and James was especially sour to see him sitting with Lily again but then Slughorn cleared his throat and people began filling their plates.

"Now," Said Slughorn pleasantly. "Mr. O' Donovan, I understand that your father is a very important person in Ireland. Pray tell, what exactly does he do?"

Sirius found himself drifting as O'Donovan, a thin Ravenclaw boy delved into a long speech and missed it when Slughorn directed a question at him. James elbowed him. "Huh? Oh, sorry, what was the question?" He mumbled.

"I asked how your parents were doing, I had both you know."

Sirius paused. "Oh, they're. . . fine."

Slughorn looked disappointed. "You know your father was a prefect, I myself put in a recommendation." The phrase hung in the air, subtly indicating that if Sirius ever wanted to be a prefect he was willing to do the same for him.

Sirius nodded, suppressing a grin. He would die if he was ever made prefect.

The conversation drifted to Lily who seemed to have charmed Slughorn beyond reckoning. Towards the end, Sirius stifled a yawn and looked at his watch. It was getting very near eleven and he wanted out. He noticed that most of the students had moved towards the fire and were talking animatedly. He glanced at James and saw he was staring listlessly at a wall and jerked his head towards the door. "Lets go." He whispered. James nodded and they crept out, ducking behind chair on their way.

The halls outside were dark and silent and they yawned and stretched, enjoying the cool air. James looked around and ran a hand through his hair yet again. "I don't know about you but that was the most boring night of my life." He said.

Sirius nodded, he hadn't listened to half of the talk it had all been people talking about one famous relative after another. "Remus was right. Pretentious."

They took off down the hall and walked aimlessly, stretching their legs and talking quietly. They reached a window and looked out at the dark night. James was studying the sky and looking wistfully towards the Quidditch pitch. Sirius looked out towards the forest, watching the leaves of the trees shudder slightly in the night breeze.

"Evans looked nice though." James sighed.

Rather than make fun of him, Sirius just agreed and leaned back on his elbows. "Why do you like her so much? She doesn't seem to be able to stand you."

James shrugged. "Well, she's smart and funny and nice and really clever. I think she might be top in our year. And she's pretty too. She's got that long red hair and those big green eyes." He chuckled for a minute. "I don't know what I'd do if she actually said yes to me."

Sirius thought about it, yes, Lily Evans was a pretty girl. He couldn't lie about that. "You think she's the prettiest in out year?"

"Oh, definitely. You?"  
"I dunno. I guess. I mean, I just haven't paid that much attention to the girls in our year. But if you asked me about the fifth years or something, I could tell you."

James chuckled. "What is it with you and older girls?"

Sirius shrugged. "Their better built."

James snorted. "Well they're not gonna date you. You're a kid to them."

Sirius grinned. "There are a few girls in our year I think are okay."

"Oh yeah? Which ones?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you!"

James punched him playfully on the shoulder and they set off down the hallway and headed back towards the dormitories to tell Remus and Peter of the party and assure them they would not be going back.

They found them still up playing exploding snap in the common room. Remus was winning and looking board.

Sirius and James climbed through the portrait hole and greeted them. "You guys waited up?" James asked.

Remus shrugged. "We wanted to know how it went." He gave them an expectant look.

Sirius shrugged and plopped down on the sofa beside him. "You were right. Pretentious. All anyone did was talk about their famous relatives. I got bored within the first few minutes."

James nodded. "He didn't even talk to me. Just mentioned I flew well and said I should have been in Slytherin."

Remus laughed lightly. "So you won't be going back?"

"Not a chance." Sirius said.

Peter yawned. "Still I wish we could have gone."

Remus shrugged. "I'm fine where I am. I mean, it might be interesting but I don't know if I could tolerate a room like that. Was it mostly Slytherins?"

"Snivillus was there." James scoffed.

Peter sneered a little. "No wonder you two left."

James flung his head back and laughed. "I can't imagine why Slughorn invited him."

"Out reach program for the terminally greasy?" Sirius suggested.

James snorted. "Phh. I think he's a little beyond help."

They laughed raucously before remembering there were people asleep upstairs and quieted down.

Remus gave them an apologetic smile and excused himself, saying he was much too tired to continue and shortly after the rest of them followed.

A message appeared on the notice board the third week into the school year saying the the coming weekend the students would be allowed to visit Hogsmeade. Everyone was very excited. Sirius was eager to get to Honeydukes and James said he was looking forward to checking out Zonko's Joke Shop.

They were so excite that Professor McGonagall had threatened to take away their trip if they didn't start behaving.

The weekend of the visit Sirius gathered up as much money as he could find in his trunk and counted it all out, ready for the next morning. Peter had looked at him wistfully and said he wished his parents had given him that much. Sirius grunted that it was just his parents showing off.

They packed the Invisibility Cloak along just in case something sneaky needed doing and set off. James gave Professor McGonagall a hearty wave as they passed her, and Sirius saw her jaw visibly tighten as they went by.

They were probably the loudest ensemble to enter the village, James was yelling cheerfully and Peter was pointing out what he remembered. "That's the Three Broomsticks, we should eat lunch there." He said.

James nodded, looking around for Honeydukes and finally spotting it. "There, come on." They hurried across the street into the shop, slamming the door behind them. The shop was jam packed with students, all of whom were talking loudly and examining the sweets. Sirius looked around excitedly, trying no to show how impressed he was. Peter was gaping open mouthed and wide eyed.

James pushed his way through the crowed, knocking aside several people until he found a row of odd candies that the other students were refusing to touch. "How about a nice blood flavored lollypop?" He said to Sirius who turned up his nose.

"No thanks, man. I'll stick to something a bit less Vampirey."

James laughed and they broke up momentarily to find their own sweets. Sirius noticed Lily and Snape standing together by the counter sorting through the acid pops.

"But they aren't really acid, are they?" She asked.

Snape was laughing. "Sure they are. Wanna try one?"

Lily laughed.

Snape caught sight of Sirius and gave him a nasty look. "What do you want, Black?"

Sirius sneered right back. "Nothing to do with you."

At that moment he heard James calling his name and pulled away. Snape was watching him leave but Lily had a tight hold on his sleeve. The last thing he heard her whisper was. "Oh forget about him."

He caught up with James and the others. James had his pockets stuffed and Remus was sucking on a sugar quill. "Read to go?" James asked.

Sirius nodded and they set out to explore the village. They spent a great deal of time in Spintwitches Magical Sports Shop and a good fifteen minutes admiring the owls in the post office before following the crowds around, finding out which places were the most popular. A large group of fifth years were heading away from the village and James asked them where they were going. One of them mentioned the Shrieking Shack and asked if they wanted to come along. They all glanced at Remus who shrugged and nodded that it was okay.

"It's not going to hurt anything if you see it." He said.

They followed the crowd to the open landscape and waited before finally moving to the front to get a better look.

The building looked about to tumble down, Sirius looked over it's boarded up windows and bleak exterior and felt a stab of sympathy for Remus who was watching for their reactions.

James was leaning on the fence and frowning. "I don't mean to be rude, but it looks like it'd be really easy to get out of."

Remus shook his head. "It's charmed. Dumbledore put the enchantments on it himself."

"Remus man." James said shaking his head.

"It's alright. I only have to go there once a month."

"Still," James gave him a meaningful look and sighed. "I wish there was something we could do for you."

Remus smiled. "I rather you didn't. I don't want you to get hurt."

James gazed at the rickety house for a while longer before turning and leading the way back to the village.

They headed to the Three Broomsticks and settled down with four glasses of Butterbeer, already planning their next escapade and debating weather or not they should start sneaking down to the village with the Invisibility Cloak.

Sirius was all for it, they could even start looking for secret passages which were a favorite of his.

By the time they had finished their Butterbeers the sun was starting to sink and they made their way back up the castle, tired and hungry.


	32. Chapter 32

The days passed quickly. Halloween was fast approaching and Sirius and James were delighted when they heard an older student telling a first year of the time Peeves had pelted the Great Hall with Pumpkins.

"I don't think we'll ever out do that." James said.

"No unless he set them on fire or something." They both paused. It was a horrible idea and they hoped Peeves hadn't heard it.

James shivered and they laughed guiltily "That's a scary thought."

Fortunately Halloween went off without a hitch and no one got hurt, Except perhaps Gideon who had been scared witless by Peeves in a suit of armor. The poor boy had tripped and knocked himself out.

James was again on the Quidditch team, the first game was in a week and was set to be played during a massive rainstorm. He had learned a useful spell to keep the water off of his glasses and with that in hand, there was nothing that could deter him from the game. Sirius only laughed, he thought he was crazy.

They got their first detention two days after Halloween for practicing dueling in an empty classroom. Professor McGonagall had been furious and set them both to helping Madam Pince reshelve books in the library which quickly turned into a competition and earned them a follow up detention.

Sirius thought it was hilarious that he could get a detention for misbehaving in a detention but didn't find it so funny when he was split up from James and even more so when he was forced to help Filch polish the marble staircase. He put as little effort into it as he possibly could and groaned constantly.

Filch gave him a lively speech about no good kids and their trouble making ways and how he was one of the worst. Sirius was a little more proud of that than than he knew he should have been, but he didn't care and he could only think of counting down the minutes on his watch.

"Never done a lick of work. . ." Filch muttered.

Sirius rolled his eyes and groaned his arm had gone numb.

At half past eleven Filch let him go and he ran to find James who had been stuck cleaning the Trophy room. James complained bitterly and they returned to the common room to nurse their injuries.

The up and coming Quidditch match was as wet as promised. The rain fell like bullets, pelting the players and weighing them down. Twice the game was called to a stand still and there was a mid air collision between two Gryiffindor players and three Huffelfuffs, all of whom had to be rushed to the Hospital wing. By mid game, Sirius was wasn't even sure James was still playing, the sound of the wind had over powered the announcer and he couldn't read the score board. He and the others sat huddled in the stands, cloaks and scarves pulled up over their heads, trying desperately to ward off the wind. Peter's scarf had been carried away before the first goal had even been scored.

If James was out there, Sirius was sure he was miserable, any sane person would be.

The game was called off when a bolt of lightning hit one of the goal posts and electrocuted the Huffelpuff keeper, effectively ending the game.

Sirius retracted his statement that James was a sane person. James was furious the game had been canceled and said repeatedly that several goals he had scored had not been recorded.

"Would you shut up!" Sirius said. "Six people are in the hospital because of this game."

"Seven." Remus muttered. "They just took in our remaining beater. He crashed his broom trying to land in the stands instead of the pitch."

"Seven!" Sirius cried. "Bloody hell, that's a whole team!"

James shrugged. "Doesn't mean we couldn't have won!"

Remus shook his head and elbowed Sirius to make him stop arguing.

The next day Remus was absent for his usual preparations for the full moon. In secret, they had taken to trying to figure out a way to help him. James and Sirius were spending far more time in the library than they normally would have but so far they had come up with nothing. It was frustrating and it was made increasingly more so by Severous Snape continually asking them where Remus went.

One time James had gotten so angry at him that he had hexed him when he was going round a corner, causing Snape to cluck like a chicken for the remainder of the day. "I'd have had him doing it all week if I could have figured out how." James muttered savagely. Another time Sirius and James had lost their tempers at the exact same time and sent two nasty hexes after him causing a combination of projectile vomiting (Sirius) and uncontrollable hopping, (James). They had received detentions for that but neither had cared, they were getting so fed up with Snape and his spying and the comments he made about Remus's disappearances that it didn't matter. There was a real fear that Snape would figure it out and James had promised to shut him up for good if he told anyone.

As the Christmas holidays drew near, Sirius waited for his mother's letter telling him to return home and enjoyed himself, thinking of retorts he could send back to her. When it did come however, it was short and snappy and read:

"Sirius, your father and I will expect you to arrive on time at platform nine and three quarters for the start of the winter holidays. If you are not there, we will come and collect you from the school. We are very displeased with the letters we have been receiving about your aberrant behavior. Your father and I both will have a talk with you."

"Well, it's gonna be kind of difficult for them to have that talk with you, seeing as how you're going to be staying at my place for the holidays." James said, reading the letter over his shoulder.

Sirius looked up. James had not said anything further about his staying at the Potters since he had originally proposed it. Now he stood grinning. "Got the letter a few minutes ago. My parents said it would be great to have you over."

Sirius tore the letter from his hand and read it over.

"Dear James, your mother and I think it would be a wonderful idea to have Sirius over for the school holidays. We're looking forward to seeing both of you and to finally getting a chance to properly meet Sirius. Also, I think it would be best if we had a little discussion about the detentions you've been receiving. It's getting a little out of hand when you get a detention during a detention. Hope to be seeing you both soon and safest wishes on the ride home. P.S. Your mother wants to know if there is anything in particular Sirius might like for Christmas. Love, Dad."

Sirius handed back the letter and grinned, he felt a little embarrassed that Mrs. Potter was thinking of getting him a Christmas gift but also excited. The prospect of spending the holidays with the Potters was great. "I can't believe they said yes." His mind lit up. "Ooh, my parents are going to be so angry."

James laughed. "I don't know why you thought they wouldn't. They like you."

That made Sirius happy. He grinned and dug into his breakfast. "I dunno, I just thought they might not want to get into any trouble wit my parents, I mean, they throw a fit over just about everything."

"Nah, they don't care and I told them your parents wouldn't be thrilled with the idea but they didn't seem too worried. What are you gonna tell your parents, anyway?"

Sirius shrugged. "Nothing. I'll let them figure it out."

James nodded and shrugged. "They're gonna be mad."

Sirius didn't say anything but he agreed. It was both and empowering feeling and a terrifying one.

The day before they left Regulus came waltzing over to the Gryffindor table looking smug. "Mum told me to tell you that you had better be on the train." He said.

Sirius glared at him, eyeing the Slytherin colors of his brother's robes distastefully. "Well you can run along and tell her that I will be."

Regulus frowned and gave James and the others a suspicious look over before leaving. Sirius watched him go. If his brother tried to follow him, he wouldn't hesitate to hex him. Damn it all.


	33. Chapter 33

Sirius and James were on the train the next day by themselves, Remus and Peter were both staying behind for the holidays. James whiled away the hours by explaining his family and home. He told Sirius that he would be staying in the guest room and told him about his parents and a lot of other information Sirius would try to remember later.

They spent a great deal of time roaming the train, stopping in to talk with various people whenever they found someone of interest. They found Gideon and a small group of first years in a compartment by themselves and convinced them that it was best they were headed home because Hogwarts rented out their rooms during the winter to yetis and snow monsters.

When the train finally came to a stop in Platform nine and three quarters, Sirius was careful to avoid his brother and to lie low in the crowd so as to escape his parents' notice. James's parents were eager to greet them and Mrs. Potter swept her son into a hug and planted a kiss on Sirius's cheek. "Did you boys pack everything you need?" She asked, gathering up her hand bag as they turned towards the exit. Sirius and James both nodded. "Wonderful! Now Sirius, is there anything you'd like for dinner?I was thinking of making a pot roast."

He grinned, his parents never asked his opinion on dinner. "Oh, that sounds great."

They hurried through the barrier and out into the muggle world, Mr. and Mrs. Potter stood out rather painfully in the crowd in their wizard robes and pointed hats. They wore rather muted color and must have thought they were dressing down but had ultimately failed to do so. They hurried along into an alley where they divided up their luggage and Mr. Potter said they would have to make two trips. "I don't mind waiting for the second one." Sirius said, trying to be helpful. Mr and Mrs. Potter disapperated with James and the luggage and he stood alone for a minute, staring out into the street, watching traffic pass. For a brief second he realized just how angry his parents would be for this and just how much trouble would be waiting for him. His stomach twisted at the thought but he managed to swallow the unpleasant feelings as Mr. Potter returned.

"Thanks for waiting." He said with a smile. Sirius took his arm and they disapperated. The next second Sirius felt his feet slam down to earth in the cold snow. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a sharply sloping backyard, looking up at a cottage house. James was standing in the doorway grinning broadly.

Mr. Potter started up the slope and Sirius followed, a little nervously. "My wife already sent your things up to your room. James can show you where that is." Mr. Potter said.

James nodded as they reached the door. "I'll do it now." He said.

Sirius thanked Mr. Potter and followed James trough a small kitchen and up a narrow set of stairs to an upstairs hall. "Yours is the first one on the right." James said, Pushing open a door. Sirius stuck his head inside and looked around, his trunk was sitting at the end of the bed, neatly tucked away.

Apparently under the impression Sirius had seen all that was important, James hurried him on. "Mine is the one across the hall. C'mon." James lead the way to his room and held open the door proudly. Sirius looked around. James's room was vibrantly decorated with posters of Quidditch and several large Gryffindor banners.

"Like it?" James asked.

Sirius grinned, admiring the banners and posters. "Yeah, really cool."

James threw himself down on the bed and gestured to the office swivel chair next to the desk for Sirius. They sat down and both visibly relaxed.

"Man," James said. "I spotted your parents when we were getting off of the train and I thought for sure they'd see you."

Sirius grinned, thrilled with having pulled one over on his parents. "I'm sure their Christmas will be just ruined without me."

James laughed. "Still, you might wanna be careful what you say. I told my parents that yours weren't too keen on you staying over but I didn't really tell them that they don't know where you are."

Sirius nodded, he felt a bit guilty about tricking the Potters but he also couldn't help but be glad he wasn't at home with his family. He leaned forward on the swivel chair, turning it around backwards as he did so. "Will your parents be angry if they find out?"

James paused. "I dunno about angry but they might make you go home."

Sirius nodded and brought the chair into a full revolution. That sounded fair. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back away from his face. "Well, you wanna show me the place?"

James grinned and pushed himself up. "Alright." They grabbed their coats and headed back down the stairs. Mr. Potter was seated in the living room reading the Daily Prophet, he looked up when they entered and smiled. "Where are you boys off to?"

James shrugged. "Gonna show Sirius the neighborhood."

They headed out the front door onto a snowy street. Sirius shivered a little and buttoned his coat. James lead the way down the front walk and onto the street. "We're just outside the village, the neat thing about this neighborhood is that there are three other Wizarding families living here." He took a long look at a house with boarded up windows. "There used to be four but the Wriggly's left. Dunno what happened to them except last year they up and left."

Sirius looked at him. "Did you know them?"

"Well yeah I mean, four Wizarding families living on the same street, of course we all knew each other."

Suddenly it was more than cold out and Sirius didn't like it. He remembered Peter talking about a neighbor of his disappearing. Over the past year he'd heard more and more stories like it. It was unsettling. He looked at James and noticed the way he was looking at the empty house, like he was going to do something about the disappearances.

"You know it's dark wizards doing it." James said in a low voice.

Sirius nodded. "Trust me, I know." He thought of his cousin and her husband. God, he was ashamed to be related to them.

James clenched his fists. "I'm gonna do something about it. As soon as I get out of school. Maybe I'll become an Auror. I dunno but I'm gonna do something about it. All these people disappearing and the Ministry isn't stopping it. I mean, what the hell is the Ministry good for if they can't stop people from vanishing like this or from turning up dead?"

Sirius had always known James felt strongly about the disappearances but between the jokes and the laughs he had never heard him come out and say it before. He couldn't think of anything to add and maybe that was because he was now thinking the same things James was. He was now feeling the same righteous anger. "I'll help you. It's people like my family doing this if I don't do anything I'm just like them."

James gave him a hard look. "I know you will. You're not like them."

There was a silence in which something seemed to settle between them and if there was ever a doubt that they were best friends, if there was ever a doubt that they wouldn't always be best friends it was gone. Sirius knew he had someone who understood and he understood James's feelings as well.

After a pause he nodded curtly and they continued down the street before they began seeing the first few markings of the muggle village. When they reached the post office they turned around and headed back.

As they passed the Wriggly's house for a second time, Sirius cast it another glance. It looked like any other house on the street, except that it was empty and no one knew where it's occupants had gone and no one seemed to care. He didn't like that.

As they entered the kitchen through the back door and Sirius could smell the beginnings of super. "Did James show you the town?" Mrs. Potter asked.

He settled down at the kitchen table opposite James and nodded. "Nice place."

She laughed. "Oh, thank you. Is your room okay?"

"Oh, yeah. It's great." He grinned. "James told me there are three other wizard families in the neighborhood."

"Mm-hm. Lovely people. Are there any wizarding families in your neighborhood?"

"No, just us." He laughed a little at the idea, his parents weren't exactly social.

"Well I'm glad we have neighbors, I always like having tea with Mrs. Mayberry. she's such a sweet older lady."

"She used to give me sweets." James said. Until I was nine and I accidentally set fire to her flower beds."

Sirius laughed. "I once made the couch stick to my living room ceiling when I was five."

"Children always find the most unusual ways to cast spells. They don't mean to but they always do."

They talked for a while more before she sent them out to set the table and help carry in dishes. The dinner was wonderful. Not only was the food good but Mr. and Mrs. Potter actively talked to them and everyone laughed. Mr. Potter asked Sirius his opinion on several topics and Mrs. Potter fretted over them both. Sirius thought it was how a family dinner should be and part of him wished the Potters were his family also. He enjoyed their company in a way he had never with his own parents. They cared what he thought and they were never cold or biting.

By the end of the night he found himself in the living room with the Potters playing cards on the hearth with James. Mr. Potter was tucked behind the Daily Prophet again and Mrs. Potter was reading a copy of Witch Weakly and taking recipe notes. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.


	34. Chapter 34

The days leading up to Christmas were some of the best of Sirius's life outside of Hogwarts. He had the run of the neighborhood and no homework to keep him inside. He and James passed the hours playing board games inside or else out having snowball fights.

The fights had gotten a little out of hand when they'd found a couple of old brooms in the shed and taken the fight to the air.

By the end of each day they'd worn themselves out properly, earning the laughter of Mr and Mrs. Potter. It was a new experience for Sirius to have his antics appreciated.

As the days grew closer to Christmas Mrs. Potter kept hinting that she would like to get him a gift. Sirius tried repeatedly to tell her that she didn't have to but she insisted and the morning of Christmas he found that his efforts had indeed been in vain.

Christmas morning Sirius and James raced down the stairs to open presents. When they reached the living room Mr and Mrs. Potter were already waiting for them, smiling. With their cue the two to them dropped to their knees and began sorting through gifts, occasionally tossing up someones .

Sirius was surprised with the number of gifts he received. Remus had sent him pocket sneakescope that currently was sitting quite still and Peter had sent a large box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. There was a nicely wrapped pocket watch from his uncle as well that told the time anywhere in the world when you asked politely. His efforts to assure Mrs. Potter that he did not need another present had been quelled as well when he unwrapped a home made Gryffindore afghan. Even Andromeda had sent a box of sugar quills. There were however no presents from his parents.

He noticed this as he unwrapped his uncle's gift and read the card:

"Dear Sirius, wishing you a Merry Christmas and of course a Happy New year. I must say that it was fairly easy to guess where to send your presents. I think I might add that with the ease I figured it out, I have no doubts that your parents will just as easily. I think next time you plan an escapade such as this it might be prudent to have a cover story. Perhaps you should try asking me? Your mother even asked if you were staying with me. I told her no. If I were you I would right her an apology. It will not make her less angry (and believe me, she is very angry) but I think in the long run it might help you both. Wishing you the best, your uncle Alphard."

Sirius set the letter aside with a lump in his throat. He had been pushing the thought of his parents' anger to the back of his mind all week but his uncle's letter brought it right back up. He glanced at the Potters who were laughing warmly and forced his thoughts back to Christmas. He wasn't going to think about his parents until he absolutely had to.

He turned his attention to James's gift and unwrapped a large box of Filibuster Fire Works. He grinned at the possibilities.

"Like those do you?" James asked. "I picked them up in Hogsmeade and thought of you."

Sirius blew him a kiss. "Aw, you're sweet."

They finished sharing their presents in good spirits and then cleaned up the room. Mrs. Potter sent them out to amuse themselves and they spent the time flying over the snow covered pastures and fields. Sirius was not a fan of the biting cold air, nor was he a fan of the sharp wind that blew. James however looked as though he was enjoying himself immensely. If anything he looked more alive than ever. They drifted lazily through the air, talking conversationally and laughing loudly. They were careful to avoid the village and any farm houses, Mr. Potter had warned them repeatedly not to be seen.

Sirius stopped in a warm ray of sun and James wheeled around to face him. He looked wild with his hair blown all over the place and his cheeks flushed from the cold. His eyes glittered for a moment and Sirius was struck by just how glad he was to have a friend like James. James was always up for something, he was always thinking and funny and mischievous. This time James pulled up along side him and stopped.

"I've been doing some thinking." James said.

"About?" Sirius asked, teeth chattering a little.

"Well. . . about Remus's little problem. You know, he's only dangerous to humans and I thought. . . what if we weren't human? What if we could find a way to be with him when he turns?"

Sirius paused. "Like Professor McGonagall?"

"Exactly, I've been doing some reading on animegus and if we could turn into animals, there's a chance we could help him."

Sirius hung in mid air. "But we wouldn't be real animals, what if he knows? Like what if the werewolf him knows we're not animals? If there's any danger Remus won't go for it."

James frowned. "Well we have to try. He claws himself up every night he's alone and Madam Pomfrey has to patch him up. What if we could be there to help him? We have to do something, he's our friend."

Sirius shared James's passion. He was right, if they could help their friend they had an obligation to do so. "What have you read so far?"

"Well. . . it's complicated magic. It might take us a while but I'm sure we could do it. We're almost top in our year. . . well at least in Griffindor. Well. . . if we did better in potions we would be."

Sirius nodded, mind filling with ideas. "McGonagall can turn into a cat without her wand, do you think that would be really hard?"

"Well, I think once we get the first part done with and we could actually turn into animals, that would be the next step. I mean, think of how useful that would be!"

"Hey, what animal do you think I'd be?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"You? You'd be a flobber worm." James teased.

Sirius swerved so that he collided into James's shoulder. "Whatever, you'd be a dung beetle."

They headed back to the Potter's cottage laughing and then headed up to James's room with hot chocolate to warm up.

They talked about the coming semester and their plans for more nocturnal activities under the cloak. James had big plans for a game of night quidditch which Sirius thought could be great fun. Talk eventually turned to the map and how far they had come along with it. James had left the map with Remus and Peter over the break. Remus had said he was trying to find a way to enchant it so that only they would be able to look at it. So far he had been unsuccessful.

Christmas dinner was another wonderful meal. Mrs. Potter had outdone herself and Sirius was delighted to find several of his favorites on the table. He suspected that she must have asked James about them. They whiled away the meal laughing and talking cheerfully. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had brought crackers and James and Sirius exploded them with gusto, earning laughs and applause.

It was such a different environment from his home and Sirius couldn't help but be happy. Part of him knew he would pay for his happiness when the summer holidays came but another part of him just didn't care.

That evening when he went to bed he was in a particularly in a good mood. It had been one of the best Christmases of his life. He ha gotten more presents than he had anticipated and the day had been filled with cheer and merriment. The way a holiday should. He lay back and watched the light from the moon filter through his window peacefully. His cards were sitting on the desk, all except fro his uncle's which he had stuffed in his bag. His presents were at the foot of his bed and as he closed his eyes, he couldn't help thinking that it had been a perfect day.


	35. Chapter 35

Sirius and James finished out the Christmas holidays roaming the countryside and running wild. They had almost total freedom. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were not strict parents at all and seemed even negligent compared to the Blacks. They allowed James to come and go as he pleased and to Sirius it seemed spoiled him a little but for his part, James never took them for granted and they were just as lenient with Sirius as they were with their own son. More and more Sirius found himself wishing the Potters were his parents. They were always interested in what he had to say and they seemed keen to include him. More than that they were just generally pleasant to be around.

On the last day before they returned to school the boys took their brooms out to get a last look at the town. They circled the village several times, coming dangerously close to being seen twice and laughing loudly each time.

James was already making plans for mischief in the coming semester and Sirius couldn't help but join him. They talked about what they would buy at Zonkos on the next Hogsmeade trip and spent the hours laughing happily.

When they finally headed back to the house it came as some surprise when Mrs. Potter was not at her usual seat at the kitchen table. Curiously James and Sirius shucked off their wet shoes and headed towards the living room.

One look inside made Sirius's stomach drop out. His father was sitting across from the Potters and no one looked happy. He swallowed hard and glanced at James who had gone white.

"Ah, here he is." Mr. Black said, eyes glinting.

Mr. and Mrs Potter turned to look at them and to Sirius, it would have been better if they were angry. The intense disappointment that fell over their faces made him feel so much worse. "Sirius, your father says that he did not give you permission to spend the holidays with us." Mr. Potter said quietly.

"I uh. . ." He had never experienced this kind of shame before. He felt like he had let the Potters down and that was so much worse than making his parents angry.

"It's my fault, dad." James said, speaking up. "It was my idea. I convinced Sirius that he shouldn't tell his parents. I'm sorry Mr. Black."

Sirius glanced at his father who's face had drawn into a tight look of disapproval. "I don't blame you James. Sirius is capable of making his own decisions and while it is certainly noble of you to stand up for him, I see no reason to throw you under the bus. Sirius chose to disobey me. His actions are his own."

James swallowed. "I was in on it."

"Well Sirius is my son, your punishment will be up to your own parents."

"Well I don't know about punishing." Mrs. Potter said quickly. "I've never been very fond of it and really, they're going back to school tomorrow. I am however disappointed that you would like to your parents Sirius, and us. And James, you too. I'm disappointed in both of you."

They hung their heads.

"Well I believe that may be a difference in out parenting techniques." Mr. Black said icily. "I believe discipline is necessary in raising a child. There must be consequences for negative behavior."

"Well I won't disagree with you there." Mr. Potter said. "I certainly can't reward lying. However, I will say that Sirius was well behaved and despite the circumstances was a delight to have and, with your permission we would be pleased to have him here again."

"I'll have to discuss that with his mother."

Sirius felt his insides twist at the mention of his mother.

"Well I'm sorry for all of this. We really had no idea." Mrs. Potter said gently. "Sirius, why don't you go and get your things? I'm sure your mother is anxious to see you."

Sirius doubted that she was anxious over his well being but nodded anyway. "I'll help you." James said, leaping at the chance to get out of the room. The two of them hurried up the stairs and once they were in the guest room, Sirius sank onto the bed, feeling faint.

"I'm up shit creek now." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Mum's gonna be mad."

James leaned against the door, hands folded behind his back. "You gonna be okay?"

Sirius shrugged, he was angry that his parents had found him and angry with himself that he had let the Potters down. "Yeah, I mean what can she do to me? We go back to school tomorrow."

James nodded seriously. "Yeah. So this is nothing, really."

In his heart Sirius knew this was true but he wouldn't put it past his parents to come up with something truly awful in the few hours they had. He bent and threw a few items in his bag and then looked up. "Look mate, I had a great Christmas. I really did. How mad do you think your parents will be?"

"At you? Not at all. They really like you."

That made him feel a bit better. "Think I should apologize?"

"I think that might be best. You know, don't leave any loose ends but don't worry too much, they really liked you."

With a last, long look around the room they returned to their parents. The Potters and Mr. Black were sitting stiffly in their seats, all looking decidedly uncomfortable. Sirius hesitated at the foot of the stairs and glanced at James before clearing his throat. "Um. . . Mr. Potter. . . Mrs. Potter I wanted to say thanks for having me and I'm sorry I lied. I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything."

"I'm sure that was heart felt." He father said dryly. "Come along Sirius, your mother is waiting."

To his surprise Mrs. Potter stood and crossed the threshold, coming to stand in front of him. She put a hand on the side of his face. "Sirius, please go home and apologize to your mother for me. I know I would be very worried if I didn't know where James was."

He wanted to tell her that it wasn't the same and she should never compare herself to his mother. He wanted to tell her that his mother was a vindictive old hag and that she wasn't worried at all about him in the slightest but he didn't. Instead he just nodded.

She gave him a small hug. "Well, maybe we'll see you on the platform tomorrow but if not, have a good rest of the year." She turned. "It was nice Finally meeting you Mr. Black. I hope you had a good Christmas and new year."

Mr. Black nodded curtly. "Yes, it was quite pleasant."

Sirius couldn't help but feel those words were loaded against him. He waved goodbye to James as his father's hand clamped down on his shoulder, steering him towards the fire place. He barely had time to glimpse James's frown before he was pushed into the emerald green flames and heard his father say "Number 12 Grummauld Place." The room spun for a moment and then he was being physically shoved out the grate into his parents' library.

His father stepped out after him and Sirius took the opportunity to head towards the hall. He got two steps out the door before his mother came flying at him. She marched through the kitchen doorway, eyes blazing and face twisted in rage.

"I knew it!" She shrieked. "I knew where to find you. I knew where you would be. I knew where you would go!" Her hand flew and she slapped him across the face. He put and arm up to try and force her away but she slapped him three more times. "Now look what you made me do, you nasty little brat." Her chest was heaving madly.

"Get off me!" He yelled, finally managing to duck away.

"Don't you tell me what to do. You're in trouble! Do you think you can just run off when we tell you to do something? You have always been just the nastiest brat." She grabbed a fist full of his hair and dragged him back into the library where his father still stood.

"Do you have any idea what you put your father and I through?! Do you know how embarrassed he was to have to go and get you from those people? To actually go into their home?"

"And what's wrong with their home?" Sirius demanded, now feeling angrier than ever.

" They're blood traitors, what if someone saw him there? Do you think I want people associating us with people like them?"

He jutted his chin up aggressively. "Well I want them to associate me with them. James is my best friend."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You are just the wickedest boy, aren't you? Just the wickedest, nastiest child a mother could ask for. I bet you did this just to spite me."

"Oh yeah, I bet I ruined your Christmas." He snapped.

She picked up a ceramic desk ornament and threw it at him. It shattered behind his head and he leaped back, putting the couch between them. "Stop it!" He yelled.

"Don't you tell me what to do you little guttersnipe. I tell you what to do and when I tell you to come home, you come home. You don't go running off to some trashy blood traitor's house with their snot nosed son."

"Shut up and quite insulting them."

Her eyes flew wide and she threw a paper weight at him . This time it hit his chest, smacking hard against his collar bone.

"Stop throwing things!" He roared, fighting the urge to throw something back at her.

She threw another ceramic figurine, missing him completely and hitting a bookshelf. This time when the figure shattered they stood glaring at each other, both breathing hard. Sirius's eyes darted around, looking for anything else she could throw at him before he spoke again. "They're good people and James is my friend."

Her face twisted into a sneer. "I'm so ashamed to have you for a son. I really am."

"Yeah, and you're mother of the year."

"Oh, I aught to be given an award for putting up with you."

It was Sirius's turn to sneer. "You're such a martyr aren't you."

Her eyes narrowed wickedly. "Don't you dare start you brat. You disobeyed your father and me and you're in trouble."

"Yeah? What are you going to do to me? I'm going back to school tomorrow."

"Oh, don't think you're getting out of this. I'm writing the school tonight. You're not going on any more Hogsmead trips and you're not allowed to play on any sports teams. . . and" She paused. "and. . . and. . ."

He felt his heart sink at the mention of the Hogsmeade trip but couldn't stop himself from feeling a kind of joy when she came up short on ways to punish him. "Got anything else?" He laughed.

Her eyes widened dangerously and she scooped up a book and flung it at him. It hit his head and fell to the floor, spine breaking. It would have been more satisfying if it had hurt more but it was enough to give Sirius an angry sense of righteous fury. "Just get out. Go to your room. I don't want to see you until tomorrow morning." She hissed. "I don't want to see you or hear you or even know you're there." She pointed towards the door. "Now get out of my sight."

It took all of his self control not to ask her why she had been so keen to get him back in the house if she didn't want to see him. He had half formed the words before stopping himself. Instead he marched past his parents as quickly as he could. A last glance back saw his mother sinking into a chair and his father putting a hand on her shoulder. Somehow that made him angry too.

He stomped up the stairs and to his room and slammed the door, heart pounding and fists shaking. In a moment of rage he threw everything off of his bedside table, breaking the lamp and a glass jar of coins. When that wasn't enough he kicked the bed post and punched the wall, gathering up all of his self restraint not to start throwing things. He hadn't felt this much anger in months. He was furious. He wanted to go right back down the stairs and keep the fight going.

Somewhere in his rage he glanced at the lamp and felt a sudden stab of annoyance. He had broken something useful. He sat down on the bed, feeling his anger dissipate. He was left feeling drained. He stared at the door sullenly and stayed quiet. He half wished his mother would come bursting through the door. After a moment he got up and paced the room but then sat back down, energy drained. Finally he caught sight of himself in the dresser mirror and stopped. He had a bruise on his face where the book had hit him. Gingerly he poked at it, somehow satisfied that she had left a mark.

After a moment of poking where the bruise no longer hurt to poke at he lay back on the bed and kicked off his shoes. He felt a little sick. James had said his parents wouldn't be angry with him but he couldn't help feeling bad about the position he had put them in. Eventually he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, still in his clothes.


	36. Chapter 36

The next morning Sirius could hear his family moving around below and heard the distinct crack of his father disapperating to take Regulus to the train station. After waiting as long as he could he headed down the stairs to await his turn. Half way down the stairs his mother cornered him. He let out a yelp as she pushed him against the wall and stuck her wand in his face. "What the hell-" He was cut off as a light warmth spread through his forehead and he realized she was healing the bruise from the book.

"You'd just love it if I let you go to school with that, wouldn't you?" She sneered, taking a step back and inspecting her work.

He made a face, trying hard not to make a comment before his father reappeared at the foot of the stairs. "Lets go." He snapped.

Sirius rushed past his mother as quickly as he could without making eye contact. In an instant his father's hand clamped over his arm and they were disapperating.

Another second later they were standing in Kings Cross Station surrounded by people. Sirius truned to wrench his arm free but his father held on. "I want you to listen to me." His father said quietly. "You had better behave this time around."

Sirius jerked against his grip again. "Let me go!"

"I mean it Sirius, no more detentions. No more trouble of any kind. I don't want to get a single letter home."

Sirius frowned and yanked at his arm ineffectually. "I'm gonna miss the train." He said lamely. After a long look his father finally let go of his arm and he darted off through the gate into platform nine and three quarters. When he arrived on the platform he saw that he was indeed late. Most of the students were already on the train and he was one of the last to arrive. He hurried aboard and began checking compartments for James. He finally found him in the third compartment he looked in. James was sitting alone, nose pressed to the window. He brightened when he saw the door open.

"What happened?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged, feeling the bruise on his chest strain as he did so. "They were mad. What about you?"

"Well mum says that she's gonna take my broom away when I get back from school but I figure she'll either forget about it between now and then or she'll give it back after a few weeks. What about you?"

"Well. . ." Sirius hesitated. "Mum says she's gonna write the school so I can't go on any more Hogsmead trips. She also says I can't join any sports teams either."

James squinted at him for a moment. "Well I don't see much damage done. It's not like you were gonna join any teams anyway and as for Hogsmeade, I'm sure we can get you there. We have the cloak and Remus has a secret tunnel right into the Shrieking Shack. If there's one secret passage way there's two. We'll get you there."

Sirius relaxed into his seat, it probably wasn't as bad as he had thought. James was right, there was no way he was going to join a sports team and there were a million ways he could get out of the castle. They talked for a while more about how they could sneak into Hogsmeade before laughing about their Christmas antics. Despite how things had ended they had had a good time.

"You know, they want you you come back." James said after a while. "They really liked you."

Sirius felt his heart lift at that. He was glad. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, they really liked you and between you and me I don't think they liked your dad too much. I overheard them in the kitchen after you left talking and my dad said he was really cold."

Sirius wasn't sure how to take that. Instead he just nodded. There was a moment of silence and then James cleared his throat. "But I'm serious. They want you to come back and so do I. It was great having you there."

Sirius smiled. "I enjoyed it, Your parents are absolutely great."

They laughed and talk turned back to school and their plans for nightly excursions. They had a nice ride back and soon they were laughing and yelling and attracting the attention from people in surrounding compartments.

It was only once they had returned to the actual castle that their laughter was stopped. Professor McGonagall was waiting for them by the entrance and she looked stern. Sirius tapped James on the shoulder when he saw her. She was looking right at them and they slowly made their way towards her, hoping they were wrong.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, please follow me." She said stiffly.

They did as they were told, following her to her office. Sirius felt his stomach twist when the door opened and Dumbledore stood waiting.

"You two are in a great deal of trouble." McGonnagall said, closing the door behind them. "Do you not understand that the school has a responsibility to see you safely to your parents?"

Sirius looked at James and part of him wanted to bust up laughing while a second part of him wanted to run screaming.

"Your mother wrote the school three times asking where you were over the holidays." Dumbledore said. He didn't sound angry but the disappointment in his voice was unnerving. "She didn't know where you were, Mr. Black. I can only guess that you went home with the Potters instead of your family,"

Again, Sirius and James looked at each other.

"Was this the case?"

"Yes sir." Said James quietly.

"Well, thank you for being honest Mr. Potter. Mr. Black you mother has requested that I ban you from future Hogsmeade trips and from joining any school sports teams. I am inclined to do so." Professor McGonagall said sternly.

"Do you have to?" Sirius groaned. "I already got reamed out by her at home."

To his surprise McGonagall's mouth twitched into a frown. "Well, at least for the rest of the year. You did cause quite a stir but as this is more of a family matter I'm inclined to let it be. As for you Mr. Potter, your parents have made no such requests. You will be serving two days of detention for your part."

James nodded but looked as though he had relaxed a great deal.

"The two of you can run along to your dormitories now." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. Sirius wondered why he wasn't in more trouble but maybe the family aspect had saved his hide.

With Dumbledore's blessing the two of them headed off as fast as they could towards Gryffindor tower, breaking into a run once they were far enough away. They finally stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady and shared stunned looks.

"I can't believe I got detention!" James moaned.

"I'm sorry." Sirius said, running a hand through his hair. "If my mum hadn't written the school you wouldn't have gotten in trouble."

"Don't sweat it. It's not your fault."

They turned towards the portrait together and said the password in unison. "Honeysuckle." The fat lady cleared her throat importantly. "I'm sorry, incorrect. There's a new password."

They shared exasperated looks. "Well can you tell us what it is?" Sirius asked.

She raised an eye brow. "That would be entirely inappropriate."

James made a helpless gesture with his hands. "But you know us!"

She sniffed. "I'm afraid I simply cannot tell you the password."

With a last defeated look around they sank to the flood and sat twiddling their thumbs. Sirius checked his pockets, looking for something interesting to play with but came up short. James whistled aimlessly, knocking the toes of his shoes together.

After about ten minutes Sirius checked his watch and groaned. "Gah." He moaned. "You think Remus and Peter would have come looking for us by now."

"If those bastards have gone to bed, I'm gonna murder them." James snarled.

"You take one, I'll take the other."

James made a bitter noise of boardroom and then began loudly singing a Christmas Carol to the empty hallway.

Sirius glanced at him. "Hate to break it to you mate, Christmas is over."

James shrugged and continued singing. A few seconds later the portrait hold opened and Lily Evans poked her head out. "Who on Earth?" Her eyes found them camped out on the ground and her expression changed to a look that plainly said: Of course.

James looked up from here he had lain down on the ground. "Merry Christmas Evans and a happy new year!" He finished out the last part with an off key note.

"What on earth are you doing down there?"

"Got locked out." He said, sitting up. "Are you here to save us?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, come in."

"You're even more beautiful when you're saving my life."

"I think that's an exaggeration."

"You would be inclined to think that, but you'd be wrong."

She rolled her eyes again.

"You have a good Christmas, Evans?" Sirius asked, stepping past her.

She shrugged. "It was nice. Did you?"

"Spent it with James."

"Oh, so 'no' then."

Sirius felt his mouth twist upward a little. "Wasn't all bad."

James pouted. "Are you two gonna team up on me now?"

She gave him a considering look. "I could have left you out there."

He shrugged. " But you didn't."

She smirked a little. "Mm. Well I'm sure I'll regret it later. Good night."

"Night Evans!"

Sirius gave James an exasperated look. "Night."

The two of them watched her leave and then headed up the staircase to their own dormitory. As luck would have it Remus and Peter were up waiting for them.

"What took you two so long?" Peter asked.

Sirius threw himself down on his bed. "Long story. You know how I stayed at James's? My parents found out and my mum wrote the school and complained and stuff and then we got sent to McGonagall's office and Dumbledore was there and now I'm not allowed to go to Hogsmead and James has two nights of detention."

"That's quite a story." Remus said, eyebrows raised. "Unfortunately, Peter and I discovered a secret passage out of the school over the holidays. It leads straight to Hunnydukes' cellar."

James and Sirius's faces split into wide grins. "Brilliant!" They cried. "Absolutely brilliant."

They talked for a while more, planning how they would sneak Sirius into Hogsmeade before finally turning off the lights. As Sirius lay back in bed he thought that he had probably gotten off easy. He had only had to face one night at home with his family and he was going to go to Hogsmead regardless. If anyone was actually being punished it was James and two days of detention wasn't anything big. All in all he had had a great Christmas break.


	37. Chapter 37

The end of the holidays brought about a drastic increase in the amount of work they faced. Sirius and James found little time to plan their escapades although they did manage to take the passage into Hunnydukes and Sirius found himself very pleased with the results. They hadn't risked going into the actual store but had poked around the cellar, looking at the different barrels and boxes stacked against the walls. James had even swiped a few liquorish wands from a barrel near the stairs.

After that James took his detentions dutifully, apparently believing Sirius was worth a detention or two. Sirius for his part was touched that James didn't blame him and even more so that James steadfastly refused to listen to the idea that they shouldn't try again. He said with a wave of his hand that there was nothing stopping them from sneaking Sirius over, they just had to be sneakier next time. Sirius eventually was convinced although he still had the nagging fear that Mr and Mrs. Potter would not want him back after the mess they had made.

As the days wore on, thoughts of home were pushed away and school took over. Sirius however, found himself ducking into empty classrooms and up flights of stairs to avoid his brother. Since their return to school Regulus had seemed determined to get him alone. They hadn't talked since before Christmas and Sirius had a pretty good idea of what his brother wanted to talk about.

He was however eventually cornered on the third floor by himself. Regulus had apparently waited to catch him as he headed to lunch. "I bet you think you're really cool." His brother sneered, catching him as he exited a bathroom.

Sirius groaned. "Shove off, I wanna go eat."

Regulus doggedly followed after him. "You know, you always make a mess of things and you ruin Christmas for me. I bet you didn't think of that. Last year mum was mad because you didn't come home, this year was even worse because you snuck off to stay with the Potters. What are you gonna do next year? Set the house on fire and run away to France?"

Sirius grit his teeth. "There's an idea."

"Well I wouldn't put it past you. You put everyone in a bad mood. Mum was furious."

"Oh really? She didn't seem that mad when she was throwing things at me. Guess I wasn't paying attention."

"You know, sometimes I think you really don't care about any of us."

Sirius turned on his heel to glare at his brother. "What do you want me to say? That I love spending time with you? Mum's a bitch from hell, dad's a bastard and you're a brat. Yeah, there's so much to love right there."

Regulus's frown deepened. "You know she's my mum too and I don't want to hear you calling her that. Or dad. They haven't done anything. It's all you. You cause trouble. Even Kreature was angry you didn't come home."

Sirius almost laughed at him. "Oh yeah, your stupid House Elf. Yeah I bet he was all broken up. Like he didn't love trash talking me with mum. He hates me!"

"Maybe if you were nicer to him he might like you better."

"That'll be the day." Sirius said, resuming walking away from his brother. He was followed.

"You're so full of it. Mum and dad had no idea where you were, then of all things they found out you went and stayed with a bunch of Blood traitors. You didn't even think about them!"

He wheeled around again. "You know what? I did think of them. I thought of them and thought: Wow I wish there was somewhere else I could spend Christmas."

Regulus's face turned red. "You're such an asshole."

"Yeah, and you're a ray of sunshine. And by the way, don't let mummy hear you using that word. Only blood traitors and mudbloods curse." He tried to imitate his mother's mandala on cursing. She had always insisted that curse words were for for low class people. Since then he had doubled the amount of foul language he used. It may have been petty but who was he to be anything but?

"I can't stand you." Regulus said. "I really can't. You don't think about anyone else. All you wanna do is act cool for your stupid friends. You do everything you can to make mum and dad mad and I have to hear the fall out. I have to listen to you and mum fight and you and dad fight and then you go around slamming doors. It's exhausting. Quit trying to make them mad all the time. "

"You know what? Get bent and while you're at it, grow a pair and stop being mummy's little messenger boy. If she wants to yell at me some more she can send me another damn howler."

Regulus looked at him incredulously. "I'm not giving you a message. I'm telling you to quit being such an asshole all the time."

In some ways Sirius found his brother trying to curse at him quite funny and had to resist laughing in his face. He was almost to the Great Hall and if he could make it another few yards he would be free.

To his immense relief James came flying down the stairs behind them and threw an arm around Sirius. "Sirius old buddy, old pal. How goes it!?" He shot a look back at Regulus who's face was screwed up in annoyance.

"Nothing to tell, my brother was just telling me what an asshole I've been."

"Well shoot, I could have told you that. Tell you what Regulus, you go head on into lunch and I'll tell Sirius how much of an asshole he is for you. I'll make sure he fees good and properly ashamed. I might even make him cry."

Regulus snorted angrily and shoved past them. Once he was gone James removed his arm from around Sirius's neck and laughed. "Did I ever tell you how sweet he is?"

"Yeah, like vinegar."

"What was he on about? Besides the asshole bit because I reckon I knew that."

"Oh just about how I keep mum and dad up crying and ruin Christmas."

"So nothing important?"

"Nope." They joined Remus and Peter at the lunch table and things grew much more cheerful after that. To be honest, Sirius wasn't that put off by his brother's speech. A little annoyed but in general he was still in a good mood. He and James even managed to get in a little trouble before lunch's end by shooting sparks at the Slytherin table's plate of sliced bread, causing it to burn. They had laughed loudly when Snape gave them an angry glare from behind his would be sandwich.

When the first Hogsmeade trip after Christmas came Sirius found himself anticipating the challenge of sneaking out of the castle. He had no doubt in his mind that he could do it, there were plenty of ways. The cloak, the passage to Honeydukes. He even considered the shrieking shack but thought that one might be pushing it. In the end he decided to follow James and the others out under the cloak.

The hardest part was sneaking past McGonagall. Her eyes roamed over them, obviously expecting them to try something. Despite the cold, Sirius sweated under the cloak when her eyes passed over him. He knew she couldn't see him but the way she was squinting at the air made him uneasy.

Once they were past and out of the gates he relaxed and began playing a game of bumping into other students, causing several to think Peeves had followed them out.

When they finally made it to the village he removed the cloak and the four of them made themselves comfortable in the Three Broomsticks for lunch. They laughed loudly at their success. Sirius was very pleased with himself. He had sneaked out of the school undetected and was now enjoying a lunch out with his three best friends. They sat together laughing and yelling, Sirius keeping the cloak tucked up under his robes just in case.

After a hearty lunch they poked around the different shops, exploring and picking up trinkets. Sirius had very little money left to him, he had what his uncle had set him but his parents had made clear that they would not be giving him any spending money.

In an act of charity James bought him a few sweets from Honeydukes which Sirius promised he would pay him back for. It was only when they were leaving the post office that a voice yelled after them.

"What are you doing here, Black?"

Sirius and James wheeled around, James actually loosing his balance in his haste. "What do you want, Snape?" James snapped.

Snape was glaring at them with glittering eyes, his mouth twisted into a sneer. "I heard professor Slughorn say you weren't allowed to come into the village."

"Guess your ears are as big as your nose then." Sirius laughed.

Snape ignored him. "How did you get out of the castle?"

"Walked out. Same as you."

"I bet the teachers would be curious to know how you got out."

"Bugger off." James said, kicking some snow at him.

Snape took a step backwards. "I wasn't talking to you Potter."

"Yeah? Well I'm talking to you. Get lost."

Snape's eyes glittered but then he changed tactics, clearing his throat and raising his head slightly. "Where does Lupin go all the time?"

Sirius blinked, thrown off by the question, next to him James had had much the same reaction. "What?"

"I've seen him leaving the castle with the nurse." His eyes drifted to Remus. "Where do you go?"

"M-my mother is sick." Remus said quietly.

"I don't believe that."

"Well I don't give a damn what you believe." James snarled. "It's none of your business."

"It's weird. You disappear every month, your mother can't be getting sick every month."

"Listen Snivellus, I'm gonna give you two seconds to shut your moth and leave or else I'm gonna hex you." James threatened.

Snape beat him to it. In an instant he had whipped out his wand and pointed it at James. Another second later James's cloak caught fire and he let out a pained yell, frantically scrabbling to tear the burning fabric off of him. "Ow! Get it off, get it off!"

Sirius hurried to try and pull the cloak off of James, he could smell James's hair burning as Peter dumped snow on him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Snape lingering to watch and then darting off. If the flames hadn't grown so dangerous he would have pursued. Instead he and Remus finally managed to break the clasp on James's cloak and throw it to the ground. Peter stamped out the flames.

They stood panting heavily, James making odd, pained sounds through his nose. He was holding his brunt hands out in front of him like claws. They were red and blistered.

"Lets go back to the castle." Remus said, raising his hand to put it on James's shoulder but then thinking the better of it. They hurried him back to the school as fast as they could. Half way up Sirius ducked under the cloak but stayed close by. James for his part was only breathing hard through his nose, occasionally whimpering. Sirius caught him muttering a few times phrases like "Slimy bastard" and "I'm gonna get him".

Once they were inside the school he shrugged off the cloak, not caring if anyone saw him. He had more important things to worry about. They headed for the Hospital Wing as fast as they could and thankfully found it empty except for the matron.

Madam Pomfrey took one look at James's hands and cried out. "What in God's name happened?" She quickly sat him down and began examining him. "Is anything else burnt?" He shook his head, then winced. He had some slight burning on his neck but his robes and clothes seemed to have prevented anything more extensive.

She bustled over to a locked cabinet and retrieved a vial of some thick white paste. Without a moment's hesitation she began smearing it on him. First on his neck and then gently on his hands. He flinched a few times but after a second seemed to relax. "How did you manage to set yourself on fire in the village?" She asked, eyes narrowed.

"Accident." James muttered.

She frowned suspiciously. "I'm sure. Fooling around, were you?"

"Yeah." James muttered, still holding his hands out in front of him like they were stuck there.

"Well, you'll have to spend the night. I'm going to have to apply this at least twice more. The rest of you, get out."

Sirius, Remus and Peter broke into a volley of protest which she eventually quelled, by allowing them to stay for a while more. Once she had disappeared back into her office they drew up chairs. "How bad does it hurt?" Peter asked.

James looked back down at his hands and winced as he moved his little finger. "Bad. I must have got a whole fist full of flames when I was trying to get my cloak off. I can't believe what that little git did."

"I'll get him back." Sirius snarled. "I'll go find him and hex his toes off right now."

"That came out of no where." Remus said, sounding winded.

"Yeah? I don't really care where it came from, he's a slimy little bugger and now he's asking questions about where you go. You know if he knew he'd blab to the whole school!" Sirius hissed. Remus's face paled. "But I'm not gonna let him. I'm gonna shut him up."

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "Jinx his mouth shut or something. I know a good spell for that. It takes a week to ware off."

"Well Peter, I'm trusting you to put it to good use. Maybe after that I'll set him on fire." Sirius said, thoroughly enjoying the idea.

"I think I should talk to Professor Dumbledore." Remus said quietly. "I mean I appreciate everything you guys are doing but if he's getting suspicious I think I should tell the head master."

Sirius leaned over and lowered his voice. "We won't let him figure it out and even if by some mile he does figure it out I'll be dead before I let him tell the whole school.


	38. Chapter 38

James had to spend the rest of the night in the hospital wing and Sirius and Peter did not get their chance to get back at Snape, although Sirius spent more of dinner glaring at him than eating.

The next morning they met with James in the hospital wing just as he was being released. His hands had healed and were looking as good as new. Whatever the cream had been it had healed the skin and there were no scars. James himself was eager to get out. He went with them to breakfast where he did the same thing as Sirius and spent the morning glaring at Snape.

This earned him the scorn of Lily who cleared her throat and told them to leave him alone. Sirius was surprised when James didn't tell her what Snape had done but then James was always weird when it came to Lily. Something about his insane crush on a girl who couldn't stand him.

It was two days later that they got back at Snape. James and Sirius came across him leaving the library. "Oi, Snivilus!" Sirius yelled.

Snape wheeled around and reached for his wand but James beat him to it. "Don't even try it." He snarled.

His words had little effect and Snape instead pulled his wand from his robes. "Back off Potter or next time I'll make the flames a lot harder to put out."

"Pullsatio!" James shouted, instantly large pustuals sprang up all over Snape's face and hands. They were huge and throbbing, occasionally spitting out a sickly yellow puss. It was so disgusting to look at that Sirius had to take a step back.

Snape cursed furiously and tried to take a step back but Sirius caught him. "Colloshoo!" He laughed. Snape's shoes instantly stuck to the floor. He stood looking furious and mortified, hands clenching and unclenching rapidly. "Potter. . . Black. . ."

James's face twisted into an ugly grin. "Bells about to ring, Sinivellus, have fun."

With that the two of them darted off, laughing darkly. James had gotten back at Snape for setting him on fire and for his part, Sirius felt better as well. They hurried on to their next class, eager to tell the others of their accomplishment.

Things continued on in much the same way for the next several weeks. Lily angrily yelled at them for leaving Snape stuck in a hallway covered in boils. Sirius and James were unremorsefull. They each managed to score a new detention apiece. Remus disappeared for his monthly retreat to the shrieking shack. Peter surprised them all by taking the initiative in researching how to become an Animegus. They began trying to make preparations and all of them took to Transfiguration with a new interest that both pleased Professor McGonnagall and made her intensely suspicious.

Early work on becoming an Animegus was difficult. They had to cast charms on themselves and on each other. They worked long hours into the night perfecting the spells. If something went wrong there wasn't anyone they could go to for help. Their nightly excursions became about pouring over the library and stealing potions ingredients from Slughorn. They knew that they would certainly not be full fledged Animagi before the end of term but they made plans to continue their efforts the following year.

The year might have ended on a happy note if not for the morning post arriving a week before the end of term. James had started taking the paper in a pompous and theatrical way to look more grown up but that morning he didn't make a show of opening it or leafing through the pages. He simply stared at the headlines and the stupid arrogant grin he wore so often vanished, leaving shock and disbelief. He simply stared at the front page while all around cries rose up from other students who received the Daily Prophet and from those just opening their letters.

Sirius leaned over to look at the paper and was stunned. 16 Wizarding Families Found Dead in Their Homes, Three Muggle Families as Well. When he looked up the Great hall was very still. People were moving in slow motion and there was belated crying scattered around the room.

"They all had muggle borns in their families." Remus said, reading softly over James's shoulder.

"Even the kids were dead." Peter whispered, looking stunned.

Sirius looked around. A girl near them was holding a letter and crying. A little further on down the table Lily Evans sat looking lost.

"And they found something floating over all the houses. A skull and a snake. I think the same person must have killed all these people." Remus continued, eyes wide. He looked up. "Someone went and killed nineteen families last night."

"Can't have been one person." James said in a low voice. "It's too many people. It had to be more than one."

"Death Eaters." Sirius said, the thought had come to him from nowhere and yet he knew it was true and suddenly as if he had started a movement a whisper spread through the hall. Death Eaters did this. They weren't all talk. It wasn't just random disappearances. People were dead. Innocent men and women and even children were dead.

"All were murdered by use of the killing curse." Remus read softly. "Dark wizards."

James was now sitting very still. "How can people be okay with doing this? Who the hell kills little kids?" His eyes drifted to a knot of Slytherins who were all bent over a news paper together talking quickly. They sounded neither upset or scared. On the contrary one of the was joking in an audible voice about how they should have made it a nice even number of kills.

"All I'm saying is that if they had got one more family then it would have made twenty." The boy said.

James turned on him so fast he knocked over a pitcher of juice. "What the hell did you just say?"

The boy narrowed his eyes, he was at least three years older than they were. "I wasn't talking to you." He sneered.

"Yeah well I could hear you."

Sirius was suddenly aware of people watching them. He steeled himself to stand by James.

"And I don't like what I heard."

"Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it?"

James picked up his wand from the table next to him and in a flash pointed it at the boy's face. "Clavisore!" Instantly the boy's leering mouth snapped shut and he began to struggle to open it again. "Keep your mouth shut." James snarled.

Sirius glanced at James who looked angry and like he didn't know what to do. He wanted to do something to calm him down but wasn't sure what and even then, part of him understood. People were dead and the boy had been making jokes. He didn't blame James for lashing out.

Across the table Lily Evans sat watching them. She had lost her look of helplessness and now sat giving James an open and unjudging look. Sirius met her eyes and she she made a little pained expression. It wasn't a smile but it conveyed that she didn't have the slightest problem with what James had done.

A few second later a low and steady note of music filled the hall. It hung in the air for a few seconds before climbing an arpeggio to a high note and then going back down. The music was soft but garnered everyone's attention and slowly the hall fell silent. Up at the staff table Professor Dumbledore stood up. He looked very somber. "I believe most of you have heard the news." He said quietly. "And if you have not, I will tell you. Last night nineteen families were discovered murdered in their homes. Sixteen of these families were magical and three were muggle. This is a terrible tragedy and the intentional work of dark wizards. For many months now there have been scattered disappearances. One or two people at a time. They have disappeared without leaving a trace but now we have traces. We have bodies. Whole families. I do not need to tell any of you that this is a serious and terrible thing. Someone has deemed these people's lives to be expendable and has seen them murdered. I think for today classes will be canceled. This is a time of mourning and of watchfulness. We must be vigilant not only for ourselves but for others. For when something as wicked as this occurs, it is important to remember that even the smallest act of kindness has power over it. You are free today to mourn and to think, classes and exams will resume tomorrow but for today I do not believe that tests and learning will benefit anyone. Not when such a tragedy has struck our community." He bowed his head and sat down but the hall stayed silent. No one had anything to add. They simply sat quietly.

Sirius found himself without an appetite. His cousin was a Death Eater. Someone in his family could have been responsible for one of the deaths. He wondered how his parents were reacting to the news. Certainly they were not fond of muggle borns but something like this. . . it was probably more extreme than they anticipated. They liked words, not actions. Still, they probably weren't shedding any tears. He thought about Andromeda and her new husband. Ted. He'd only met him a few time but he liked Ted. He was a good guy. .. . and he was a muggle born. He swallowed dryly and thought that he would write them a letter. A casual one, asking how things were.

Next to him he was pulled from his thoughts by James elbowing him and gesturing towards the door. "Let's get out of here. I can barely breath."

And Sirius realized he was right. The atmosphere was choking. They set off out of the great hall, joining a hand full of others who wanted to be alone. Most of them were heading up the marble staircase but James steered them out the front doors and into the bright sun light. It seemed strange to Sirius that the day should be so bright and he thought of something he hadn't before. When people died, they didn't get to see the next day. The sun was shining and the murdered people would never know. They would never walk out into the morning light and stretch again. They would never scratch their heads they way Peter was doing or stand with their hands in their pockets the way Remus was. They wouldn't do anything ever again and they wouldn't know anything new. They were dead and any plans they might have had were ended. Any shopping lists the wives had had would never be checked off. The children would never go to school or play with their friends. The fathers and husbands would never pick up the paper and read about their favorite sports team winning or losing. They would never do anything again and how anyone could willingly be responsible for something like that was beyond him.

James walked to the edge of the lake and stood looking out. He looked wistful and angry at the same time and Sirius remembered how passionate he had been about doing something. How firmly James had said that he would stop the disappearances.

Just then another shadow joined theirs stretched across the grass. Lily Evans had joined them. She stood looking cold in the warm air, arms folded over her chest. "I saw what you did to that Sixth year." She said softly.

James looked at her and his anger softened for a moment. "I didn't like what he said." He muttered.

She nodded. "I know."

"Are you gonna tell me off?"

"No." There was no animosity between them. "I was just passing. I wanted to be out in the sun for a little while."

James nodded and it was the most grown up Sirius had ever seen him act. "I won't bother you."

"You're not." She glanced at the others and smiled politely. "Well, I've got some friends meeting me over by the forest. I should go."

"See ya Evans." James said. "And if I don't see you before term ends, have a good summer."

She nodded. "You too."

Sirius watched her go and for a split second thought of harassing James but then thought the better of it. They walked some more, stretching their legs and laughing. Talking put them in better moods and they could laugh. It wasn't that they didn't care or that they weren't still shocked but life went on and they found themselves laughing in spite of the tragedy.

They talked about their summer plans and what they would do when school started again. They made plans for visits and letters. Sirius was fairly sure that he wouldn't be visiting anyone but it was nice to make the plan anyway. They lolled on and they lounged around. There was no denying the dampened mood but as they sat in the sun talking, all things bad seemed very far away.


	39. Chapter 39

The school year ended with all exams passed and acceptably high marks. Sirius was dreading the end of term. He did not want to go back to his parents' home. He knew they would still be mad about Christmas and whatever punishment his mother had been unable to inflict upon him then would probably still be waiting.

"Let me know if things get too bad." James said on their last morning in the castle.

Sirius nodded, unsure of how bad things would be when he got home. Next to him, Remus was searching for a pair of socks under his bed. Peter was sitting, already packed, swinging his legs and looking out the window. It was hard to believe the year was over. It felt both very long and incredibly short.

The end of term fest the night before had been a staunch disappointment. Hufflepuff had won the house cup. James had defeatedly admitted that he was glad it had not been Slytherin. The feast it's self had been good. The food had been fantastic and the decorations, although yellow in color had been lovely and since it had not been Slytherin they were good losers.

The next morning they found a private compartment on the train and sat cracking jokes and laughing about the finished school year. Despite all of their troubles it had been a good one. Sirius and James found some unused fire works in their luggage and after much debate ended up setting them off down the train hall way. Red and yellow streamers of sparks wizzed down the hall after students before bumping into walls and snuffing out.

This earned a talking to from the conductor who actually came all the way to their compartment to tell them off. After that they were thrown into fits of giggles until they reached the station. It had been a good day and even as Sirius looked out at the crowd and spotted his parents his heart didn't sink. He and James bade goodbye to Remus and Peter and waved at their parents and then turned towards the Potters who graciously hugged James and even Sirius. They didn't look mad but he wasn't sure that meant they weren't.

"Um. . . listen," He mumbled. "I'm really sorry about Christmas." He said, looking at his feet.

Mr. Potter pt a hand on his shoulder. "We're not mad at you, Sirius. I hope your parents weren't too hard on you."

He shrugged noncommittally.

"And I want you to know that you're welcome back any time. We'd love to have you over for a few days this summer if your parents and willing. Just let James know so he can tell us."

Sirius looked up, genuinely touched that the Potters wanted him back after the mess he had made. "I will, thanks."

Mrs. Potter made a happy sighing noise and pulled him into a hug. "You're a good boy and we loved having you. Don't you forget that."

He felt himself break into a grin and hugged her back. "Thanks. It was one of the best Christmases I ever had."

She smiled, looking a little sad. "Well it's like we said, you're always welcome."

They talked for a while more before Mr. Potter reminded him that he needed to go and find his own family. There was a last round of hugging and well wishing and the took off, pushing his way through the crowd to where his parents stood with Regulus.

"Well, it looks as though he finally found the right family." His mother sneered.

He glanced at her but bit his lip. He knew he had a lot of trouble coming for him and it probably wasn't a good idea to start mouthing off so soon. After a second he felt his father's hand on his shoulder and they disapperated onto the step of number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Sirius stood for a moment, breathing in the somehow still air of the neighborhood. He felt very conscious the absence of his friends. It seemed strange that only minutes ago he had been laughing along side James and the others. It all seemed too abruptly ended.

Around him his parents and brother shuffled inside, carrying Regulus's trunk. Sirius found himself standing alone on the stoop in the bright sun. Everything rang still and unnatural for a moment before he hitched up his trunk and dragged it inside,

Things were the same as ever inside. The hall was long and dark and no effort had been done to brighten the place up. At the foot of the stairs, his mother was levitating his brother's trunk up to his room. He watched them for a moment before dragging his own trunk down the hall and to the foot of the stairs. He looked at his mother expectantly.

She gave him a coldly raised eye brow. "What?"

He groaned. She was going to be difficult. "Could you help me with my trunk?"

She sneered at him. "Why? You did a fine job getting yourself to the Potters."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Fine." He began trying to heave his trunk up the stairs, painfully aware of her watching. He stopped on the second floor landing to breath. His mother still stood at the foot of stairs. She looked vaguely pleased with herself.

It took him about twenty more minuets to drag his trunk all the way to his room after twice dropping it and letting it slide back down the stairs. When he finally had it at the foot of his bed he sank into a chair and caught his breath. If not helping him was his mother's newest act of passive aggression he could live with it. He brushed his hair back and glanced out the window. The sill was covered in dust. Quite obviously no one had been in to clean. Well, that was just fine with him. The last time anyone had been in his room they had trashed it.

He lay back on his bed and sighed, preparing himself for a long summer.

The first few days of summer were relatively easy. Sirius spent most of them in his room. He had a few short altercations with his parents. Once his mother had made a comment about his friends and he had lost his temper and there had been a small fight. Another time his father had said offhandedly that he was an embarrassment and he had been unable to keep from making a joke about it. Other than that there had been little interaction. He sat through family dinners quietly and sometimes skipped them all together. When he did no one seemed to notice or if they did they didn't bring it up to him. He was fairly certain that they just didn't care.

Two weeks into the holidays he received a letter from James who said he was going to get to see his favorite quidditch team play. Sirius wrote back saying he was jealous. In all honestly was incredibly board. He had little to do. He avoided the rest of the house and the few times his brother asked him if he wanted to do anything he had told him to get lost. Hearing that James was getting to go to a professional Quidditch match only made him think of all the things he could have been doing.

The third week into the holidays his parents took him out into the country to see his grandparents. This wasn't all that bad, his grandparents had a large estate and it would be easy to avoid his family there. He went along willingly and suffered through a few hours of family bonding before escaping to explore the house. His grandfather had taken Regulus into his study to no doubt honor him with some trinket of a family heirloom while his parents had stayed with his grandmother. He had seized the chance to disappear.

The house was large and filled with the cluttered belongings of previous generations. He wondered through the rooms, occasionally pocketing things of interest. Most of them he knew were dark but sometimes he came across something interesting.

They spent a week in the country. Most of the time his parents and brother were occupied with his grandparents and that was fine with him. Sirius spent long afternoons walking the fields of neighboring farms and wondering around. When he did have to spend time with his family they ignored him. His grandfather Arcturus made several snide comments about his being in Gryffindor over dinner but Sirius didn't respond. The one time he did he was sent away from the table. It really wasn't much different than being at home except now he had more opportunities to avoid his relatives.

The worst instance was when his aunt Lucretia and uncle Ignatius came by. Sirius's aunt was biting and kept throwing nasty comments at him. In fact she seemed to delight in it. She even came close to insisting that Walburga and Orion had somehow failed to raise him right, starting an argument with Walburga.

By the end of the week Sirius was ready to be home. The comments from his aunt had left him feeling drained and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep from making a retort. When he finally did get home it was fairly depressing. He began spending his time away from the house. He roamed the neighborhood and wandered aimlessly. It wasn't until he had been back a full four days that he thought of visiting Alice.

He made his way to her house and knocked on the door. A dog barked inside there was a rattle as the front door opened. "Sirius?" Denny stood on the threshold looking surprised. "School out already?"

"Been out for a while." Sirius said with a grin.

Denny broke into a grin. "Then how come you ain't been by to visit? Hey, Alice! Looked who's here."

Alice piked her head in from around the corner. She broke into a wide smile. "Oh my goodness. It has been a long time, hasn't it!?" She put her arms around Sirius and hugged him. "You've gotten taller. How have you been?"

"Great! Great."  
She lead him in to sit at the kitchen table. The room looked much the same except it now smelled faintly of dog. "That's our puppy, we named him Ringo after the singer. You know, from the Beatles." Alice said happily.

Sirius leaned down and scratched the dog's ears. "When did you get a dog?"

"Um. . . a little after Sean left. He had to go home. And I was getting lonely. Jimmy moved out months ago and Denny's at work all the time so I got a dog."

"Sean went home?" Sirius could see his bike out the back window. "But his bike's still out there."

Alice sighed. "Poor Sean, there was an accident at work. A beam fell on his leg and the doctors had to take it off. He couldn't keep working with one leg so he went home to work for his father. His father owns a fishing rig off the coast of Cork. I think it hurt him a lot because he never wanted to be a fisherman but there was nothing else for him to do. He had to leave the bike. Denny doesn't know what to do with it. He rides it sometimes but he doesn't like them. We actually thought about giving it to you when you get a little older. You liked it some much and you knew Sean so it only seems right that someone who knew him should get it."

Sirius felt a lump form in his throat. On one hand he loved the idea of owning the bike, on the other he hated it that Sean had gone home without a leg. "I mean, that'd be great but I hate to get it cause of him getting hurt."

"Oh he'd just be glad someone's riding it."

He nodded and reached down to scratch the dog's ears.

"So what about you, Sirius. What have you been up to?"

"Well, I finished another school year. Got in a pinch of trouble around Christmas but everything worked out."

"Things any better at home?"

"Dunno. Mum seems to be ignoring me mostly."

"Well, try and get along with them. I know it can't be easy."

He shrugged. "I'm just mostly keeping to myself." He looked around and his eyes fell on her left hand. "Hang on, when did you get married?"

She broke into a wide smile. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you! Denny and I got married on Christmas Eve. It was very romantic. It would have been wonderful if you could have been there but of course you were at school."

"Congratulations!"

They talked for a while more. It was nice to have people to talk to again. Sirius had spent so much time by himself that he hadn't realized how lonely he had been. They talked for a few hours, Denny coming and going and Alice getting things done around the house. He helped her a little with folding laundry and doing the dishes which was a new experience as he usually just did such things with magic. It wasn't bad. They talked for about school and family and she told him about Jimmy getting a job the United States and how some of their other friends had moved on. He had never thought to ask her how old she was. It turned out she was twenty-six.

He was happy for her. Her life was going well and talking to her and Denny made everything else seem miles away. When he finally did go home he felt better than he had all summer. Despite the letters from James and the others he had been very lonely. Going from seeing his best friends every day to not at all was pretty miserable.

That night at dinner he was all but ignored which suited him fine. He got a few comments shot at him about wandering the neighborhood but as long as his mother didn't know where he went he was content to let her take her shots.

The next few weeks were much the same. He whiled away his hours by helping Alice around her house and generally avoiding his family. It was not until near the end of summer that anything changed.

Sirius had spent the day with Alice and Denny, helping Denny mend the kitchen sink. It had been an interesting new experience. Muggles had to do everything the hard way in somehow Sirius liked learning to do things the muggle way. It was the exact opposite of what his parents wanted. When he got home his mother seemed to be in a very good mood, she even asked him how his day was. Far from feeling warmed Sirius was creeped out.

When dinner came his father was oddly silent. It was not until half way through that his mother asked him how his day was again. Sirius looked up from his food. "It was fine." He said, not liking how the family's attention had become directed towards him.

She smiled coldly. "You didn't do anything interesting?"

He felt his heart skip a beat. "No?"

"Didn't see anyone interesting?"

"No. . ."

She set her fork aside. "Didn't you?"

He had a sinking feeling that she knew where he'd been.

"Why don't you tell me where you go during the day? You must go somewhere."

"I just walk around." He said quietly.

"Really? Because I doubt that. Regulus said you've been going to a muggle house down the street."

Sirius shot a look at his brother who was looking at the wall, refusing to meet his eyes. "What, did you follow me?" Regulus didn't answer. "Answer me you little prick."

All of a sudden a sharp, stinging pain caught him in his right shoulder. Sirius yelped and looked over to see his mother's wand out. "Don't you call your brother names like that. It's your fault you were caught. Do you know how disgusted I am right now? I aught to go down there and curse the lot of them."

Sirius was on his feet before he realized what he was doing. "Don't you dare go near them." He didn't really think she would but he couldn't take her threat lying down.

"You are my child and I won't have you off gallivanting with muggle filth. I've been tolerating your nasty little school friends but this is going too far. You disgust me to no end."

"They're my friends too."

"They are muggle trash and I guess you're just as bad. You obviously want to be."

"Why do you hate everyone?!" He roared, exasperation hitting him.

"I only hate children who disobey and act like snotty little blood traitors. If you go there one more time this summer I'll lock you in your room and you won't come out until you go back to school."

He felt his temper flare up again. "No you won't you bitch." A second stinging hex hit his chest. He jumped back and stood behind his chair, this time wary.

Walburga was on her feet too. "You just can't stop pushing it, can you?" She hissed. "You just want to see how angry you can make me. Well here's how angry I am." She hexed him again and slammed her fist down on the table. "I'm locking you in your room you little brat. You're not going to see those stupid muggles again, you're going to stay there until school and you'll be lucky if I remember to feed you." Sirius jumped backwards a good three feet as she came around the table. She grabbed him by his upper arm and they tussled. She was much stronger than she looked and her grip was like iron.

It was only when Sirius felt his father's hand on his shoulder that he stopped struggling. He now had both of his parents pinning him in. He glared up at them. His mother tightened her grip and began marching him towards the stairs. Sirius struggled but was mindful of his father marching behind them.

On the third floor landing she pinned him against his bedroom door and twisted her face into an ugly sneer. "You've always been a problem and I used to blame myself but you're just rotten by nature. This isn't my fault, it's yours plain and simple. You're a wretched, awful boy and I'm so ashamed of you I can hardly stand it." He struggled to get away from her. "I'm so ashamed. I don't know how I could have ever given birth to something like you."

"And I'm so proud of you." He snarled.

She slapped him hard across the face and when he looked back at her she actually looked upset. "Why are you so awful?"

"I'm not the awful one." He said in far softer a voice than he had expected. She slapped him again and he wished he could melt through the door. She was too close and her eyes were bulging and she was too loud. It didn't matter that she was hitting him. It only mattered that they were too close and every inch of her repulsed him. Every single part of her made his skin crawl.

He searched with his hand behind him, desperately trying to find the door knob. His mother was screaming again. She was calling him names and shrieking. He had to get away. His skin would burn if she touched him again. Finally he managed to find the knob and turn it. With a crash he tumbled backwards and fell.

After a dizzying second his mother reached for her wand and Sirius was suddenly afraid that she would hex him again. Instead she slammed the door and and with a loud pop the doorknob vanished.

Sirius sat on the floor, feeling dazed. His cheek stung and his head was spinning. He hated his mother. He had never felt hatred so strongly before. It made his body shake and his stomach churn. It was a completely new feeling. He was so angry he didn't know what to do with himself. He wanted to scream and break things.

After a moment he began to feel intimidated by the intensity of his anger and he tried his best to push it from mind. He pulled himself onto the bed and lay back, suddenly feeling drained. His mother had shut him in but he would find a way out. He had to. He had to show her. He couldn't let her win. She was an awful, horrible bitch and it would kill him if he let her win.


	40. Chapter 40

The next few days were a living hell. Sirius was trapped in his room with no chance at escaping. His mother came and fed him twice over the course of four days. Each time erupted into a massive fight. It was like a door had been opened and Sirius experienced a wave of anger far stronger than anything he had ever experienced before and all of it was directed towards his mother.

Early on he had considered climbing out the window but he was on the third floor. He wished he had a broom but his was locked in a closet by the back door.

On the fifth day he was tired of being angry. He still was but he was tired. He tried a half-assed apology which his mother promptly rejected. He hadn't expected it to work but at least he had tried. In truth he was getting hungry and his mother's lack of food was growing worrisome. She was adamant in her refusal to let him out. The only thing keeping him from letting the hunger hurt was his anger.

Since the fight he hadn't received any mail and without letters from the others he didn't have an owl to use. After a while even his anger wasn't staving of hunger and he was close to resorting to magic. When two more days passed he finally caved in.

Sirius was on edge. He hadn't eaten in several days and his mother was as nasty as ever. He had tried yelling at her once again but had just started another fight. Now he was sitting on his bed, glaring up at the ceiling with a nasty welt under his eye from another stinging hex. His stomach growled repeatedly and he crossed his arms over it. It was late. He'd been up for a while, too angry to sleep. The thought of using underage magic had been growing on his mind. He couldn't spend the rest of his summer locked up and starving.

Around midnight he glanced at the clock and decided that it was now or never. Grabbing his personal belongings he began throwing them into his trunk as silently as he could. Once that was done he swallowed and took a last look around. He was about to break a really big rule. Not just a rule, a law. A loud growl from his stomach pushed that thought from his mind and he grabbed his wand, pointing it at the door. "Alohomora." There was a click and the door swung open. He counted himself lucky that the spell still worked without the door knob. Fortunately it did and he stepped out into the hall. No light shown from under his parents' door. That was good. Feeling that one spell was as good as two in the ministry's eyes he put a weightless spell on his trunk and carried it down the stairs.

He moved as silently as he could, consciously aware of the dark house in a way he hadn't been before. Ever shadow made his heart beat speed up. Every creak of the stairs made him think he'd been heard. His paused when he reached the front door to listen. In the morning his mother would be furious. He felt his hand shake a little at the thought. He wasn't running away, not for good. He just had to get out for a while. He opened the door and stepped out onto the street, breathing deeply as he stood on the step.

After a second he picked up his trunk and began making his way down the street. He considered going to Alice but she was too close and his mother would find him. Instead he hurried on down the street, stopping a few blocks away. Now that he was out he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't have any muggle money and he was starving. He looked around hopelessly, scratching his head as he did so. Running away had seemed like a good idea but now that he was on his own he began to think he might have made a rash decision. But there was no turning back. He had to find somewhere to go. He stood for a minute, feeling lost before reaching for his wand.

He stuck it out and waited. He had never used the knight bus before. His mother thought it was crude and beneath them. With a loud bang a a violently purple bus appeared out of nowhere and skidded to a stop. Sirius was glad he had been standing away from the street but he backed up anyway. After a second of making sure the bus was completely stopped he ran around to the door and waited. The doors opened and a boy with frizzy hair leaned out. "Somebody call the knight bus?" He asked. He looked down at Sirius and squinted. "Aren't you a bit young to be out this late?"

Sirius shrugged and dug for some gold. "I need to get to Godric's Hollow."

"Well hop in we can get you there."

Sirius clambered in, dragging his trunk. The boy on the bus didn't seem the least bit interested in helping him with it.

"My name's Ernie." The boy said once Sirius was settled. "Future driver of the bus. I'm taking lessons." He grinned proudly.

Sirius nodded, settling down on a bed. "How fast do you think yo can get me there?"

Ernie frowned a little, apparently displeased that Sirius wasn't impressed. "Two stops. We've got one in Liverpool and one in Dagonalley. Godric's Hollow is right after that."

Sirius nodded again and sat back. He'd decided to go to James's house but he was nervous. He didn't have any right to drag the Potters into his problems. He'd done enough of that and he'd already caused them enough trouble but he had nowhere else to turn to. He sat silently, stomach churning as the bus rocketed along. He hoped they wouldn't be angry, it wasn't like he was asking to move in with them or anything, he just needed somewhere to stay until he could figure out what to do next.

He barely noticed as the bus slammed to a stop in front of the Leaky Cauldron and an elderly wizard stumbled on. The next stop came shortly and a group of wizards drunkenly tumbled out about a mile outside of Liverpool, singing loudly as they did so. His was the next stop. As they drew near he took a little more interest in his surroundings. Ernie was pestering the driver to let him take a turn at the wheel and when he turned to look out the window a telephone line sprang away from the road.

Suddenly the bus slammed to a stop and he almost fell from the bed. Dazed he began to gather up his trunk.

"Godric's Hollow." Ernie called out. Sirius swallowed and headed out. A moment later he was by himself on the street. He remembered how to get to the Potters' home. He had walked the village with James often enough at Christmas. He set off silently, a knot twisting in his stomach. The closer he got the less sure he became. He was putting a lot on James's family. He stopped when he reached their house and hesitated. He had run away without thinking. He considered going home. If he could make it back before dawn no one would know. But then he thought. . . he had already run away and done magic and if he went back he would be back to starving and being locked in his room.

He swallowed and knocked on the Potters' front door.


	41. Chapter 41

A light went on inside and Sirius stepped back from the door. He could hear someone talking inside and then a quiet scrape as the deadbolt was removed. There was a creak and the door opened and Mr. Potter stood blinking in the doorway.

Sirius scratched the back of his head. "Um. . . evening." He muttered.

"Eh- Sirius? Wh-what are you doing here?"

He shuffled his feet. "I. . . didn't have anywhere else to go."

Mrs Potter appeared behind him. "What is it?" She called out sleepily. "Who's at the door?"

Mr. Potter frowned. "What happened to your face?"

Sirius shrugged, hoping they wouldn't make a bug deal out of the stinging hex. "Nothing." He felt like he was in a spot light and he found himself glad James had not come to investigate.

"It's very late." Mr. Potter said, "Why don't you come in so I can close the door."

Sirius did, dragging his trunk. "I'm sorry. . ." He muttered.

Mr. Potter waved a hand, brushing away his apology. "Come to the kitchen."

Sirius found himself in the kitchen a second later and sank into a chair, feeling very worn.

"Let me look at your face." Mr. Potter said, drawling his wand. Sirius held still while the man pointed his wand at the welt. After a second he could feel it begin to heal. "A stinging hex. Did your mother do it?"

He nodded, seeing no point in lying.

"Oh dear." Mrs. Potter fretted. "Let me get you something to eat." She began rummaging around and before long Sirius had a bowl of soup in front of him and a plate of bread. He scarfed it all down as quickly as he could. He was still starving.

Mr. Potter stifled a yawn. "What happened?"

Sirius shrugged, feeling that anything he said would come off as self pitying. "She wouldn't let me out of my room and she wouldn't give me any food." He paused. "We had a fight."

The two Potters looked at each other. "And you ran away?"

"I wasn't really thinking."

"Well you and James are more of doers than thinkers anyway. Do your parents know where you are?"

"No."

"I thought not. In the morning I'm going to write them a letter letting them know where you are and telling them that you're going to be spending the rest of the summer holidays with us. I think that that would be best at this point. Beyond this summer I have no say."

"Thank you." Sirius muttered.

Mr. Potter nodded. "I'm sorry things have reached such a point with your family. You know you're always welcome here."

Mrs. Potter put a hand on his shoulder and Sirius was glad it was there. "That's what James says."

"Well you need to listen to him, he's a good kid."

Mr. Potter showed him up to his room. Sirius half considered going to see if James was up but didn't. Telling the Potters things had gotten so bad had been draining. He felt embarrassed. It would have been one thing to tell James or one of his friends but it was totally different to tell Mr. and Mrs. Potter. He went in and lay down with his clothes on. He would talk to James in the morning.

It was noon before Sirius woke up. When he finally did he was still in his clothes and was very sore from sleeping face down. He changed quickly and headed downstairs, unsure of what he would find. He ended up finding James sitting at the table reading a Quidditch magazine. James looked up as he entered the room.

"Dad told me what happened, are you okay?"

Sirius shrugged and sank into a chair opposite him. "Better now that I'm not locked up."

James squinted at him like he was thinking hard. "I wish I had known, I would have done something."

Sirius waved a hand. "Nah, it's fine."

"So what happened?" Sirius recounted in much greater detail what had happened with his mother from the time he had spent with Alice and Denny to the fight at dinner, to the subsequent fights locked up in his room. Telling James made him relax. He had been worried about what he was going to say but telling James was easier than it had been telling the Potters. He could be freer with his speech and James didn't comment on how many times he called his mother a bitch.

When he was done James nodded seriously. "Well, guess it's a good thing you came here then. Mum was really worried about you this morning. Wanted to know if I knew anything you didn't tell her. I said I probably didn't."

Sirius sat back in his seat. "Your parents are really decent people."

James smiled. "I like to think so."

They sat for a minute and then Sirius turned his attention to the rest of the kitchen and began searching for food. After lunch the two of them headed out for a walk. It felt good to get out and stretch his legs. The two of them wandered through the village, waving to the occasional friendly muggle. It was a welcome reprieve from the being inside for s long.

As it turned out, the Potters kept a small amount of muggle money on hand for spending in the village. James and Sirius borrowed a small amount and bought themselves ice cream. After that they wandered around for a little while longer until supper.

When they returned Mr. and Mrs Potter were sitting in the living room talking. Sirius paused when he saw them. Coming to them the night before suddenly felt embarrassing.

"I got a letter back from your father." Mr. Potter said.

Embarrassment turned to worry. Had his father said anything too awful?

"Your father says that you staying here is fine. He says that we're expected to take you to get your school books and pay for them if you do. He did say that you'll be returning home at the end of the next school year but I don't think that's much of a surprise."

Sirius hung his head. It wasn't fair for his parents to make the Potters pay for his books and it wasn't fair that they tried to ruin everything. This was just a ploy to humiliate him. "You don't have to pay for the books. I'll write my uncle and ask him for some money."

Mrs. Potter cleared her throat. "We'll take that if he offers but if he doesn't, please know that we're willing to pay."

He nodded. "I'll go write him." He hurried up to his room, followed by James.

"You can borrow Hector when you get done."

Sirius grabbed a roll of parchment and began writing.

"Dear Uncle Alphard, I don't know if you heard but I've been having some trouble at home and I'm staying with the Potters right now. Mum and dad kind of blew up and won't send me any money to buy my school books. I hate to ask but do you think you could send me a little. I'll pay you back when I get a chance. Thanks, Sirius."

He read the letter over, feeling bad about asking for money like that. He hated the way it sounded but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

The rest of his summer was much better. Sirius and James had as much time as they wanted to do whatever they wanted. They even managed a meet up with Remus and Peter at one point. By the end of the Summer his uncle had come through and sent Sirius the money and he was able to get all of his school supplies. His uncle had also sent a letter saying he was sorry to hear about what was going on at home but criticizing him for running away. Sirius couldn't really blame his uncle for saying that but he still wadded up the letter and threw it away.

On the last day of the summer holidays he thanked the Potters profusely. He didn't think he could show how grateful he was but they simply laughed and told him everything was okay. He finished the night up in James's room talking about the coming day.


	42. Chapter 42

The Potters got them to the train station very early the next morning. Mr. Potter said it was because he wanted to make sure they got on the train in plenty of time but Sirius had a guilty suspicion that he was trying to avoid a run in with his parents.

Either way they were on the train without a hitch. The only time he even say his parents was through a window. After that he settled back in his seat and waited for the others. James kept poking his head out into the hall, annoyed at how long Remus and Peter were taking. When they finally did arrive the train was close to leaving. Remus's face was flushed and the minute he closed the compartment door he drew the curtains and pulled out the map. "Look what I've found out." He said excitedly. He tapped the paper and the ink began to disappear. "I've been waiting all summer to use this spell."

They watched with interest as the paper became blank. Remus taped it again and the lines and rooms of the castle reappeared.

"I was talking to my dad about how to make a paper go blank on command and he told me the spell." He said.

Sirius, James and Peter looked at each other excitedly and James clapped Remus on the back. "Nice going. Do you think we could make it password only? That way no one else can read it."

Remus sat back and stared at the map for a minute. "Sure. I mean, I don't know how to right now but we can figure it out." They folded up the map and eagerly began talking about their plans for it. Talk eventually turned to becoming animagi. They had made some progress the previous year and with the little success they had, James was sure they were on the right track.

Through all of the talk of animagi and transformations Remus stayed rather quiet. He was torn between wanting his friends to succeed and knowing how dangerous it was. Sirius watched him for a moment but didn't say anything. Whatever Remus said they would still keep trying.

When the trolly came around they loaded up on candy, James buying most of it. Sirius had recently found himself with much less money than he was used to. His parents had made good on their threat to not give him any spending money but still, James was generous and they all had a good time.

By the time they finally reached the castle they were all sitting in good moods. They secured a carriage to themselves and made their way up to the castle, laughing and joking. Sirius was glad to be back. He knew he had missed the castle but he hadn't realized just how much. Being back was far better than going home ever was. He settled into his seat in the Great Hall and sighed, ready to eat.

Dumbledore made his usual speech about rules and the new year and all of the usual. Then came the feast. They had another new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. This one was a gnarled old woman who looked suspiciously like a hag. She was eating a particularly bloody steak and sitting hunched over the table, eyeing the students maliciously.

A few seats away Gideon was talking to a group of second years and waved at them ecstatically. Sirius glanced at James and laughed a little. A few seats down, Lily Evans was laughing with her own friends. She had grown her hair out over the summer and the result was quite lovely. James kept shooting her looks and at one point she gave him a tentative smile.

"Things are gonna be different this year, I'm gonna win her over." He said.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I doubt that, mate." He clapped James on the shoulder. "Best of luck though."

James shrugged, unperturbed and helped himself to pudding.

The rest of the evening went smoothly and Sirius and James laughed and joked. At one point they laughed so loudly that they got a stern look from professor McGonagall.

They had struck up a friendly conversation with an older boy named Frank Longbottom. He was good natured and pleasant and seemed to share their sense of humor. "So anyway, it was my first Care of Magical Creatures class and I wanted to be useful and all so when the nogtail we were working with ran off I chased it all the way into the forest. After about twenty minutes I realize where I am and start trying to make my way back only nothing looks familiar and I just get more lost. Twenty minutes after that and I'm really freaking out. You hear all sorts of stories about the forest. Werewolves and stuff. Then of all things I hear this howling and that's the last straw. I take off running and start smashing into things and then of all things I trip over a tree root and go tumbling. Just when I think it can't get any worse I smack into something huge. I start yelling but it turns out the Game Keeper was looking for me and it was his dog I was hearing."

They all laughed and Remus leaned forward, eyes sparkling good naturedly. "Was it a full moon?"

Frank shrugged dramatically. "How should I know? It was the middle of the day!"

They all laughed again and Sirius had to appreciate Remus's ability to joke.

They talked some more and after a little while Sirius noticed Frank had a habit of shooting looks towards a girl sitting a few seats down. "And I thought James was bad." Remus muttered, causing him and Peter to laugh.

"What was that?" James asked, head whipping around at the sound of his name.

"Nothing!" Remus said innocently, smirking into his goblet.

After supper they followed Frank up to Gryffindor common room and said their goodbyes. Sirius was glad to be back. He fell onto his bed and groaned into the pillow. It had been a very long summer.

The next morning Professor McGonagall gave them their time tables at breakfast and Sirius and James complained bitterly about their classes. "Potions and Transfiguration both on Monday? What are they trying to do to us?" James moaned.

"At least Slughorn isn't strict." Peter said, chewing slowly.

"Still potions and it's still with the Slytherins."

The morning's classes weren't that bad. As it turned out, Professor Slughorn was recovering from a cold and had little interest in teaching. He set the class to preparing ingredients for the next class and while the rest of the students set to work skinning figs and sorting snake venom, Sirius and the rest lounged in the back playing a game of exploding snap.

Only Snape seemed to have a problem with their noise as he repeatedly shot them angry looks. After a while Sirius made the bottle of swelling solution he was holding shatter and Snape's hands grew to three times their normal size. He let out a yell and stumbled backwards. Next to him Lily Evans let out a cry and began frantically looking up a spell.

James and Sirius burst out laughing and she shot them a furious look that quickly sobered Remus and Peter yet did nothing to deter James and Sirius.

By the end of class Slughorn had undone the damage to Snape's hands and they had evaded getting caught.

"I keep hoping that one of these summers you two are going to grow up." Lily said, shoving past them and the turning on her heel to face them again. "I don't know why you have to be so awful." This time she marched off, Snape following her with a last angry look at them.

"Eee-vans, it wasn't like I didn't know Slughorn had the cure." James shouted, ignoring that fact that it was Sirius who had cast the spell.

"I don't think she's gonna go out with you this year either." Sirius said with a grin.

James ran a hand through his hair looking genuinely distressed. "I don't know why she's friends with him! Didn't you see him last night at the feast, all buddy buddy with those wanna-be death eaters? She's muggleborn, how can it not bother her?!"

Sirius shrugged, feeling that it was probably best to let it go. However James continued to rant all the way back up to the Great Hall. "I heard them last night when we were leaving, one of them was going on and on about cleaning up bloodlines. He called it taking out the trash and Snape was just eating it up. He's not really her friend if he's gonna hand out with people like that!"

They all nodded, not feeling the need to add to his rant. He was right.

Sirius thought about his brother and looked for him at lunch. Regulus was sitting at the Slytherin table with a knot of third years laughing loudly. He was a good looking kid but when he laughed his smile was cultured and arrogant and Sirius hated it. Why couldn't his brother stop acting like. . . he didn't know what it was but everything about his brother was too refined and too posh. He had worked long and hard to become the uncultured slob he was. Just as if to prove it he slouched in his chair and cast a moody eye around the hall. He caught a girl a few seats down staring and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes went wide and she blushed, quickly turning away.

He grinned, feeling his work was done and busied himself with food.

Frank Longbottom stopped by soon after. He was tall standing up but he had the awkward look of someone not quite used to their own height. "Afternoon," He said excitedly.

James quirked an eyebrow. "And what's got you all riled up?" He asked.

"I'm about to ask Alice out." He pointed to a girl a few seats down. They recognized her as the girl he had kept looking at the night before.

"Go for it!" James cried.

"Good luck." Remus said with a grin.

They watched him right himself and march over to the girl who smiled widely when said her name. A second later she was nodding and smiling and Frank sank into the seat next to her, giving them a wide grin and then looking at his own friends.

"Good for him." Peter said.

"At least someone'll get the girl." Remus said dryly, casting a sidelong look at James and smirking.

James pouted comically and slumped into his seat. "Whatever, pass the corn beef."

They had Transfiguration after that and were dismayed when Professor McGonagall said that this year they would be sitting alphabetically.

"No!" James cried out. "Professor, don't you think we're a bit old for that?"

She cast him a stern eye. "Yes, I do. I think it's very unfortunate that I should have to assign seats for fourth years."

He made a somewhat guilty face and fell silent.

Sirius ended up between a Ravenclaw boy and gryffindor girl, neither of which were of interest to him. Remus was by himself too but somehow James and Peter were still seated next to each other. Professor McGonagall did not seem pleased with this but did nothing to rectify it.

By the end of class, Sirius had begun to wither under the glares he was receiving from Lily Evans. She was only one seat away and spent every free second of the lecture giving him angry looks.

That evening they sat around the common room talking quietly. They made plans to get back to work on becoming animagi. There was a potion they had to make and after consulting a pilfered page from a library book they realized it would be no easy task. The potion would take up to six months to brew and judging by the rest of the pages James had stolen, the steps after it were just as difficult. Again Remus voiced his concern that maybe they shouldn't be he sounded half hearted and no one listened to him.

At one point Lily sent them a distrustful look but she didn't come over and no one said anything to them. After discussing the potion they turned their attention to the map. Now that they were at school they work as much magic as they wanted and they began compiling a list of things they wanted to do to it.

That night they went to bed feeling satisfied with their first day back. Sure both of their teachers had given them ample homework but it wasn't due until the next week and probably wouldn't get done until the night before and so there was no rush.


	43. Chapter 43

The first few weeks were very rushed. They all noticed an increase in homework from third year and complained bitterly complaining quickly lost it's appeal as James became swept up in Quidditch trials and much to Sirius's surprise he learned that his brother had been made Slytherin Seeker.

Regulus had been very smug about it at the lunch table and Sirius had seen him lapping up the attention. A group of second years girls seemed to have formed a fan club around him which for some reason he found very annoying. "He hasn't even played yet! James, you better kick his ass."

"Will do, mon capitan!" James said in a comically bad French accent.

They had another altercation with Snape on the third day. They were in potions again and the flames under Sirius and James' cauldron had flared up so badly they had both been burned and had to go to the hospital wing. Not knowing the cause they told the matron that it had been an accident and it wasn't until dinner that night that Remus told them quietly that he had seen Snape point his wand at their cauldron.

Furious Sirius and James had sprung to their feet and marched over to him. "Oi, you little git!" Sirius snarled. "What do you think you're doing, setting us on fire like that?"

Snape looked up from his supper and sneered. "Why do you think I did it?" He asked nastily. "I thought you just didn't know how to manage your own cauldron."

Sirius made a sudden move to punch him but James elbowed him and jerked his head at the staff table. "Not here." He muttered.

"I'm gonna get you you slime ball." Sirius growled.

"Get lost." A voice said.

Sirius wheeled around to see his brother standing behind him, arms folded cooly. "What do you want?" He sneered.

"I want you to go back to the Gryffindor table."

"I'm talkin' to someone." Sirius said through gritted teeth.

Snape was watching them through narrowed eyes and between him and his brother, Sirius had the sudden impulse to hex Regulus and smash Snape's face into his food.

"No you're not, get lost."

Sirius glanced at James who was looking at him, and didn't seem particularly inclined to leave. He decided to switch tactics. "So I heard you're the new seeker. Did you write home and tell mummy already?"

Regulus rolled his eyes in an obnoxiously superior manner. "Yeah, I did. Because I don't spend my whole life trying to make her mad."

Sirius shrugged, feeling a little proud of himself. "Do I honestly have to try with her?"

"Could you not discuss your family's dysfunction while I'm eating?" Snape hissed.

"Sod off." Sirius snapped.

"You're the one who came over here." A girl's voice interjected.

Sirius groaned and thew his hands up. Lily Evans had joined the fray. "Great, it's a bloody party! Anyone else want to come over here?"

"Just go back to your seats and leave people alone." She said angrily.

James glanced up to the staff table and saw Dumbledore watching. He elbowed Sirius again. "Let's go, teachers are watching."

Sirius stayed rooted to the spot for a moment more before finally allowing himself to be guided back to the table. Lily followed them. "You two can't stop." She said, sounding furious. "An-and neither can he. But you two are the worst. None of you can ever leave it alone." She sounded close to tears and instead of going back to her seat she she fled the great hall.

James ran a hand through his hair and slumped in his seat. "I think we really upset her." He said, looking a little worried.

"She'll get over it." Sirius growled, throwing himself down and stabbing at his food. James looked like he wanted to argue but instead crossed his arms on the table and sulked.

The next few days were volatile to say the least. Lily was angrier with them than ever and Snape had managed to hex Remus which pisses Sirius and James off astronomically although they were fairly sure he was aiming for them. This started a long stream of fights in which both parties took every opportunity they had to send the other a nasty hex. Eventually all three of them ended up in detention.

This put a halt to the fighting and Lily relaxed a great deal. All of the fighting seemed to have had her on edge but she was no friendlier to them and if anything her relationship with Snape seemed strained. James backed off bothering her for a while after that.

Things fell into routine after that, the first Quidditch match of the season rolled around and Gryffindor crushed Slytherin, giving all of the Gryffindors an increase in pep and none more so than James who was arrogant as ever.

Remus's first full moon rolled around and as usual he disappeared, making the others work harder than ever on becoming Animagi.

They had another altercation after this when James caught Snape in the library digging in some of the same books they had when they first figured out Remus was a werewolf. "You think he knows?" James asked Sirius, looking white.

"No way, he's not that smart." Sirius said, feeling uneasy.

"If he figures it out he'll probably tell everyone, you know what a git he is."

"Then lets stop him."

They caught Snape leaving the dungeons a few days later and hauled him into a secluded passage. James shoved him against the wall and stood back, hands on his hips. "Leave Remus alone." He snarled.

Snape's eyes darted between them and his hand flexed towards his wand.

"Don't even think about it!" Sirius barked, drawing his own.

Snape hissed and remained still. "Get away from me." He snarled.

James looked furious and he jabbed a finger in Snape's face. "You need to stay the hell away from him and stop digging."

There was a moment of silence and then Snape's lip curled. "He's a werewolf, I knew it!" His eyes looked them up and down with glee. "I can't believe Dumbledore let something like that into the school. He could kill us all!" He sounded more pleased about it than anything.

In a flash James's fist connected with Snape's jaw and he toppled over. A moment later Snape was scrambling to his feet wand held out.

"Say that again!" James yelled. "He's not a werewolf and he's not a thing. You talk about my friend like that again and I won't need magic to kick you slimy little ass."

Snape's face contorted into anger. "You couldn't if you tried Potter."

James made a lunge but Snape danced out of his reach, looking smug.

"So what is he then? I've seen him coming into class late after disappearing and the teachers never do anything about it and it's always near the full moon."

"He gets sick." James snarled.

"Yeah, with what?"

"None of your damn business so don't go spreading any of that werewolf crap."

"I'm going to figure it out." Snape sneered, backing down the hallway.

"You're not and you're going to stop." James growled.

The two of them stood glaring at each other for a long moment before Snape turned and took off down the hall and James finally lost his temper. He slammed his fist into the stone wall and cursed. "Damn it! If he tells even one person I'll rip his damn head off."

Sirius was actually impressed, James was usually very in control of his temper. "Easy mate, it's not like you'll be alone."

James glanced at him and then grinned ruefully, running a hand through his hair. "Whew." He exhaled. "Man he really gets under my skin."

Sirius nodded, he was angry himself but he was calmer. "You wanna go fly around the Quidditch pitch or something?"

James hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, lets go."

They set off and after a few circles around the Quidditch pitch he was laughing again. Sirius even took a broom from the shed himself and they raced in circles and dives. By sunset they headed into the Great Hall in much better spirits.

After that things were tense again. James and Sirius knew Snape had not stopped trying to find out Remus's secret and they were now on guard. They even caught him following him once and when the second full moon of the year rolled around they followed Remus out of the castle just to make sure Snape didn't try and follow too.

He didn't but they were still wary.

It wasn't until late one night when it was just the four of them and Lily Evans and two of her friends that they realized how much he had figured out. Sirius, James and Peter finished their homework and headed up to the dormitory, leaving Remus to write the last few lines of his and were followed out by Lily's friends. Half way up the stairs Sirius realized he had left his bag next to the couch and doubled back. He stopped when he heard Lily's voice.

"Sev is convinced you're a werewolf. At first I kept telling him that there was no way but he has a lot of points."

From his vantage point Sirius could see Remus turn pale. "You think I'm a. . ."

"Remus, I don't care but Sev does a lot. Honestly I think it's just because you're friends with Potter and Black but you've always seemed like a good person so I don't want him get you into any trouble."

Remus hung his head. "Do you think he'd tell anyone."

She paused. "He's my best friend but yes."

He put his head in his hands. "I know why he doesn't like me b-but I. . . he'll ruin everything! I'll have to leave the school." He looked at her looking miserable. "I'll have to leave my friends. Doesn't he get that?"

She looked at him apologetically. "He doesn't care. It's only because you're friends are so awful."

"They're not as awful as you think, they're actually pretty good people. I mean, I know they're jerks sometimes but really, they're good people. I couldn't ask for better friends."

She shook her head. "But you're so much nicer than they are, I've never understood why you're friends with them."

Remus laughed a little. "Like I said: they're good people wen you get to know them. They just act like jerks."

"Well, I'll try and convince him to drop it and I'm sorry he's being so. . . I'm sorry."

They were silent for a moment and then Remus smiled. "Thank you, Lily."

She nodded and got to he feet. Sirius took the moment to step into the room. "Sorry, forgot my bag." He said, trying not to let them know he had been eavesdropping. Remus pointed to where his bag was and Lily shot him an embarrassed look.


	44. Chapter 44

Over the next few weeks they began making the potion for the animagus spell. It involved several trips to Slughorn's personal store room in the middle of the night and after a lot of arguing they decided to use an empty classroom on the seventh floor. By the looks of it no one had been in to clean in quite a while and they came to the conclusion that it was safe.

After that they made several more nightly trips to Slughorn's private store rooms, collecting the different ingredients.

As the days passed they took turns darting away from class to check on the potion. As luck would have it the room went undisturbed. They're only obstacle was Snape trying to follow them. Fortunately it only took two of them at a time to stop him and most of the school just thought this new wave of dueling was just an extension of the old.

Snape for his part was getting more and more aggressive in his questioning.

It culminated when Sirius caught him discussing his suspicions with several other Slytherins in the dungeons. They however did not look convinced. Sirius waited until Snape began to climb the stairs to the Great Hall and jumped in line next to him.

Snape reacted quickly by reaching for his wand. "What do you want Black?" He snarled.

Sirius glared at him. "I thought we told you to leave Remus alone."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "I know he leaves the castle at night. How does he get under the tree?"

Furious Sirius shoved him. "What, did you follow him?!" He yelled.

"It wasn't that hard." Snape said proudly.

He clenched his fists furiously. "I aughta kick your ass."

"Well how's he do it? Does the teacher do it? I see McGonnagall take him there. What happens?" Snape pressed, eyes glittering.

Sirius grit his teeth. "Why don't you go find out?" He snarled. "Just touch the knot on the tree and see what happens."

Snape's eyes went wide. "What happens?!" he asked. "Why's he go there?"

Sirius shrugged, pretending to be ignorant. "I dunno. Why don't you find out?"

Snape looked him up and down, eyes still wide. They had made it to the Great Hall and after a moment He hurried off to his table. Sirius stood for a minute feeling vindictive and felt so until he reached the Gryffondor table. Remus was gone and he realized it was a full moon. Suddenly he no longer felt pleased with himself or even remotely vindictive. All through dinner he kept looking over his shoulder at Snape, making sure he was still in his seat.  
Next to him James was talking loudly to Peter about an upcoming Quittich match and payed him no attention.

However, by the time they were halfway through diner he realized Snape was still in his seat, all was well and he began to relax and join the conversation. "Well yeah, Ravenclaw's got a great keeper but we have a fantastic seeker. All he has to do is catch the snitch early. Mind you, I'm still gonna try and score a few. . ." James said

"I dunno, Chandler is pretty fast for his size." Peter said, leaning on his elbows and glancing at the Ravenclaw keeper across the hall. "Match might be over you score one."

"Knock it off, James can get past him." Sirius said, waving his hand. He glanced surreptitiously over his shoulder and froze. Snape was nowhere to be seen. He swallowed hard and glanced at James who was now laughing loudly and telling a story to three other people.

Surely Snape wouldn't go after Remus. If he really thought he was a werewolf he wouldn't be that stupid. Still .. . He glanced around the hall again and felt his heart sink. He hated Snape, that was true, he couldn't stand the guy but Remus could kill him and that was different.

"James," He said in a quiet voice. "James, I think Snape went after Remus."

James looked up, laughter still in his eyes. "What are you talking about?" He grinned.

"James, I told him how to get under the tree."

The laughter vanished quickly and James was left looking stunned. "You did what?"

Sirius shook his head, not sure what to say. "I mean. . . I didn't think. . . I didn't think he'd actually. . . It's a full moon. . ."

James scanned the Slytherins and shot from the table,dashing towards the door. Sirius followed, insides twisting.

Ahead of him James was running full tilt towards the whomping willow looking panic stricken. When he was close enough he whipped out his wand and stunned the tree on the knot and quickly slid down the passage. Sirius had to jump back as the tree started moving again. He skidded back and paused to catch his balance. The minute he was steady he drew his own wand and stunned the tree again.

He was halfway through the passage when he heard a loud yelling sound.

"Get off me!" Someone was yelling.

"Shut the hell up!" He heard James roar. Both of them came tearing past and Sirius was knocked against the wall. Quickly he followed them back out of the passage and onto the grounds. James dragged Snape a good distance away from the tree and threw him to the ground before standing with his hands on his knees, doubled over. He was gasping and panting and his face was white as a sheet.

Sirius came running up but before he could speak James slugged him. He fell back, feeling stunned. "What the-?" He yelled.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" James screamed over him. "He could have been killed!" He tore at his hair and looked around wildly as Sirius got to his feet. "Did you even think about Remus? Did you think about what that would do to him? How he would feel if he hurt someone?"

"He's a werewolf! I knew it!" Snape cried, sounding triumphant.

"Shut up!" James yelled, turning to him. "If you ever tell anyone I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"He's a freak! A dangerous freak!"

"No, you caused the danger! You chose to follow him! God, damn it, Sirius why the hell would you tell him?"

Sirius rubbed at his jaw. "Look, I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking." He said.

James tore at his hair again. "I can't deal with this! You need to stay away from me."

Sirius tried to argue but was cut off. "What on earth are you three doing out here?" Professor McGonagall cried, striding across the grounds. She looked livid and Sirius began to wonder how the situation could get any worse.

James was still winded and tugged at his hair, staring at her with wide eyes. "Professor. . ." He raised a hand as if to speak and her nostrils flared.

"What were you doing in there?" She hissed, anger overpowering her voice.

"Black told me how to get through!" Snape yelled, glaring at Sirius. "What's Dumbledore letting thatthing at Hogwarts for?"

Sirius and James both made a move to lunge at Snape but were stopped by Professor McGonagall shooting sparks up into the air. "That is enough!" She cried. "All of you will follow me to Professor Dumbledore's office. Immediately!"

They followed her back into the castle. Sirius could tell James was close to losing it and kept his mouth shut. Behind them Snape looked both gleeful and stunned at the same time. He wondered who James was more angry with.

McGonagall left them outside Dumbledore's office and they all stood in silence. James was leaned against the wall, eyes closed and body tense. "James?" Sirius asked in a tentative voice.

James opened his eyes. "Don't talk to me."

He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry!"

"I said don't talk to me."

"How long have you two known?" Snape asked. He seemed to be getting over his shock.

"Get bent." Sirius said.

"He could have killed me!" Snape's eyes flickered, looking rather happy about it.. "You could have killed me, Black."

"I could still." Sirius snarled. He wished James would back him up but James was still standing against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"I bet you'll be expelled for this!" Snape looked like someone had told him Christmas was coming early. "Maybe you and the werewolf both."

This time Sirius and James both lunged at him but Snape managed to dance out of their reach. "Shut your mouth." James said in a hoarse voice.

Sirius turned to look at him and was about to speak when James shook his head. "Don't." He said again. "Please don't."

A moment later the door to Dumbledore's office opened and Professor McGonagall ushered them in, looking severe. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, hands folded and face grave. Sirius couldn't help but wonder if Snape was right. If he was about to be expelled. His record didn't exactly help him any either. He swallowed hard. Getting expelled was probably next to being a squib to his mother. She'd probably kick him out. He glanced at James and wished his friend would look at him. He regretted shooting his mouth off now. He was sorry and he wished James would see that.

"You three were seen coming out of the passage under the Whomping Willow." Dumbledore said quietly. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, I know the two of you are aware of how dangerous that is. I have to ask, did you lead Mr. Snape there?"

"No sir." Said James in a steady voice. "He figured out how to get under the tree and I went to stop him." Sirius felt his heart leap, James was covering for him.

Dumbledore gazed at James for a long moment before turning his attention to Snape. "How did you find out how to get under the tree?"

Snape's eyes glittered. "Black told me only he didn't tell me there was a werewolf on the other end." He glanced at Sirius malevolently.

Dumbledore paused for a moment before looking at Sirius. "Is this true?"

Sirius glanced at James who was glaring at him and nodded. "Yeah."

"May I ask why you did this?"

Sirius felt his mouth go dry. "I didn't think he'd be so stupid." he said, trying not to sound scared. "And I guess I thought if he was, then it'd be his fault." He glanced at Snape, hoping he got the message.

Dumbledore frowned. "That was a very terrible thing to do. And even if you have little regard for Mr. Snape's life, did you consider how this would make your friend, Mr. Lupin feel?"

Sirius wanted to retort but didn't. This wasn't like being chewed out by his parents. He couldn't mouth off to the headmaster and anyway, he was in enough trouble so instead he bit his tongue and shook his head.

"I don't think I need to tell you that Mr. Lupin's enrollment in this school is a very precarious matter. There are many people who would object." Dumbledore turned to Snape. "Therefor I must ask you to refrain from telling anyone about Mr. Lupin's condition." Snape's face fell. "This is a very serious matter and if you insist on telling the other students I may well be forced to expel you. You would be ruining Mr. Lupin's social and academic career."

If it was possible, Snape's expression became even more let down.

"Mr. Potter, I'm very grateful that you were able to set aside your differences with Mr. Snape and come to his aid. Thank you." James just looked at the floor and nodded. "If you'd like, you can return to your common room."

James nodded again and Sirius tried to catch his eye but he refused to look at him. The door shut and James was gone. Sirius stood with his insides twisting.

"Both of you are going to receive detentions for this, however I will leave that up to Professor McGonagall and I'm afraid Mr. Black that I'm going to revoke your Hogsmeade privileges."

Sirius felt his heart sink further. "Are you gonna tell Remus?" He asked.

"He has a right to know."

It was true but he wished it wasn't. "Are you gonna write home?" He asked.

Dumbledore folded his hands. "I think that this matter should remain inside the castle. Minerva as I said, I'm leaving the detentions in your hands."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Fifty points from both of your houses. Mr. Snape, you will be helping Professor Slughorn in the dungeons and Mr. Black you'll be helping Mr. Filch in anything he asks."

"How long?" Sirius asked before he could stop himself.

Her nostrils flared. "I think at least a month. I am honestly revolted in your flagrant disregard for human life and for your own friend."

Sirius hung his head. He wanted out. He wanted to go find James and fix things.

"Well, I believe that it's probably time for the two of you to get back to your dormitories." Dumbledore said. "Please don't let anything like this happen again. I'm very disappointed tonight."

As soon as he was released Sirius ran straight for Gryffindor Tower. He had to find James and talk to him. Everything was a mess and his best friend was ready to kill him.

When he reached the Gryffindor common room James was nowhere to be seen but fortunately neither were most of the other Gryffindors. It took him a moment to realize that they were probably still at dinner.

He threw himself into an armchair by the fire and sat for a moment, fidgeting restlessly before getting up and pacing.

After a while the Gryffindors began filtering in in twos and threes from dinner, talking happily. He searched each face for James's but didn't see him. He didn't see Peter either and began to worry that James had told Peter what had happened before he'd gotten a chance to talk to him.

Not long after dinner Peter came in and gave him a small frown. "Hi Sirius." He said uncomfortably.

Sirius leaped to his feet. "Hey Peter, have you seen James."

Peter avoided his eyes. "No, Sorry. He came back to dinner but then he left again. I haven't seen him since."

"Did he say anything?"

Peter hesitated. "Listen, I'm really tired. I think I'm just gonna get to bed." He hurried pasted Sirius, leaving him feeling miserable. Once Peter was gone he threw himself back down in the armchair and sighed, determined to stay up and talk to James.


	45. Chapter 45

He did not see James that night. After a while of thinking he guessed James had used the Invisibility Cloak to slip by him. He tried again the next morning but James ignored him and at breakfast he sat by himself.

They had charms that morning but he could hardly focus. He kept checking the door, waiting for Remus to come in. He had even taken a seat by the door after James had refused to let him sit with them.

Remus however did not turn up and when class ended Sirius was back to feeling sick. On his way out he tried to wait for James but he and Peter pushed past, Peter at least shot him a sympathetic look. Left alone Sirius hung his head and headed out after them. Again Remus failed to show up during lunch and Sirius worried that something was really wrong. He was torn between the thought that Remus might have left the school and the worry that he was just avoiding him. Either way it was his fault.

When he finally did turn up it was during Defense Against the Dark Arts and he walked right past Sirius. Feeling his stomach twist Sirius tried to get his attention but Remus didn't even look at him. He spent the entirety of the class shooting him looks but could not catch Remus's eye. After class he ran to catch up with the others but James stopped him. "Get lost." He said, voice low and strained.

Sirius looked to Remus who was still refusing to meet his eyes. "Look, I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking."

James glanced at Remus too and crossed his arms. Peter just looked uncomfortable.

"I don't want to talk to you, Sirius." Remus said quietly. "Could you just go?"

Sirius felt his heart sink. "Please, I'm really sorry!"

Remus jerked a little as he fought to meet Sirius's eyes. "I know. . . a-and I'm going to forgive you but just. . . not right now."

Sirius felt his heart leap and glanced at James who's face was decidedly neutral. He looked as though he accepted this answer though. "A-alright. . . okay. Okay." They stood feeling uncomfortable before Remus cleared his throat.

"Well we better get to dinner. See ya Sirius." The three of them headed off and Sirius watched them go, feeling a pit form in his stomach. Remus was going to forgive him but when he would do so left him hanging. Eventually he headed to the Great Hall where he ate alone again. Remus and the others were sitting a few seats down, steadfastly ignoring him. Lily Evans caught his eye at one point and gave him a hateful look. He figured Snape had ignored Dumbledore's warning and told her. But then she had already known. . . he gave up eating and left the Great Hall, wandering the castle until he was sure most of the school was in their dormitories. Eventually he headed back himself and sat in a corner of the common room, feeling distinctly unwelcome.

The others had evidently retired to the dormitory and he was left alone. The few scatterings of people in the common room uninterested him, Lily Evans and a group of girlfriends were seated by the fire, she caught his eye again and shot him a furious look. When her friends left for bed she strode over to him.

"I thought you at least valued your friends." She said, eyes blazing. "You could have killed him. Would you even have felt a little bit bad?"

He looked up at her, feeling her words were unnecessary. "Go away." He said. "I know what I did."

"You know, Remus really valued you as a friend. I think what you did was horrible."

He glared up at her. "Just piss off." he wanted to sound angry but didn't think he's quite managed it.

"He's the only one of you who's half way decent and he did not deserve that." With that she turned on her heel and marched off. He slouched in his seat, she was right and it made him feel worse.

After that the days passed slowly. Sirius found himself spending time with Frank Longbottom and a few older students. He wasn't quite friends with them but it was better than being alone. Remus and James both appeared to have no interest in making up and Sirius was forced to spend his time alone. Outside the castle the weather was growing colder and one morning they awoke to a thick blanket of snow covering the grounds. It was the first snow of the year and set the castle on a Christmas spiral that put even Peeves in a good mood although he perpetuated his good mood by being particularly rambunctious.

Sirius however dreaded the holidays. With no friends he would be spending his Christmas alone in the castle. The only bright side was that he wouldn't be spending it at home. His father had sent him a letter politely asking him not to return home for the holidays. After that he moped around the castle, watching as the decorations went up and feeling gloomier than ever when everyone else went on the last Hogsmeade trip before the holidays. He had bought everyone presents a while back and spent a lot of time agonizing over weather or not to give them.

In the end he decided not to, thinking it would be too awkward.

When Christmas morning dawned Sirius awoke to find the others already opening their presents. He cast a wary eye at the foot of his bed and saw a single package sitting wrapped. He sat up and glanced around before opening it. By far he had the smallest pile. James and another boy had the largest among them and as he looked around James caught his eye and glanced at his box with a slightly guilty expression. Sirius shrugged a little, trying to pretend that it didn't matter but inside felt wave of disappointment.

Still, he tore off the paper with gusto and read his uncle's card.

Dear Sirius, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope your fourth year is going well. I'd like to hear from you sometime soon. Enjoy.

The package contained a small bag of gold and a silver doorknob. He studied it for a moment, not entirely sure what it was until another card was shaken loose from the wrappings.

This is a pocketdoor, you stick it against a wall and envision where you want the door to lead. It only works inside of one building but I thought you and your friends could put it to ill use. However, do be careful, as I recall these are against school rules so don't get caught.

Sirius twisted the knob in his hands, itching to try it out. He momentarily thought of all the trouble he and the others could get up to before remembering that that wasn't going to happen. Still, it was a pretty neat gift. He glanced up and watched as James and Peter traded candy and Remus unwrapped a homemade pie from Mrs. Potter.

He caught Remus's eye and Remus glanced at his single present with an odd look on his face before looking away. Sirius watched them for a moment longer before setting his card on his dresser and getting dressed. Even with only one present and no friends, the Christmas feast was something to look forward to.

He ended up eating with a group of third years. One of them, a girl named Agatha Flynn kept shooting him looks even. It wasn't the best Christmas he'd had but it beat any spent at home. A little after dinner Peter came up to him and handed him a box, inside was a case of chocolate frogs.

"I didn't want to give it to you in front of James." He said, looking a little embarrassed. "You know, in case he got mad."

Sirius bit his tongue, feeling a little cynical about things. "Thanks." He said. Honestly, he did feel grateful for the gift. "I uh . . . I got you something too."

Peter followed him back to the dormitory and he sat on the bed while Peter opened his box of sugar quills. "Sorry I didn't wrap it." Sirius said, feeling slightly embarrassed. In truth he had just been planning to eat them himself.

Peter shrugged and sat down opposite him. "It's fine. Sorry I haven't been talking to you. I just don't want James and Remus mad at me. James has kind of been in a bad mood since you guys stopped talking. He's grumpy all the time. I think he misses you."

"Then get him to talk to me again! I keep apologizing but I can't do anything else."

Peter sucked on the end of his quill. "I don't know if I can. He'll probably just yell at me. Sorry. He's pretty moody."

Sirius leaned back on his elbows and sighed. "I just want to be friends again."

"I think Remus is close to forgiving you. He can't stand the way James is acting either."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I think James'll probably relax when he does. I think he's ignoring you 'cause he wants to be a good friend to Remus."

Sirius stared out the window and sighed again. "I'm eatin' with third years." He moaned. "I can't take much more of this."

Peter shrugged. "Well, I mean I wouldn't mind hanging out with you again but like I said, I don't want to piss James off."

"Yeah." Sirius muttered, annoyed with Peter. "Yeah I got it."

They talked for a little while more but the conversation was stilted, and Peter kept checking the door. Eventually he excused himself and Sirius was left alone. He lay back and stared at the underside of the canopy hanging over his bed.

He liked Peter but if he was honest with himself he would have preferred the first person to speak to him to be James. Even more than Remus which made him feel guilty. But James was his best friend and he had the assurance that Remus would forgive him. So far James just seemed angry, even if Peter insisted that missed him and was just being moody.

Not long after that the other boys began to turn in and Sirius pretended to be asleep. He pulled the covers over his head and stared at the uncle's card sitting on the dresser. It made him feel a little bad that he only had one and had only gotten two presents. Somehow the single card made him feel very alone. He thought that that was stupid and greedy but he didn't do much to take his mind off of it. Instead he wallowed and glared at the card, almost wishing that he hadn't gotten any.

Next to him James was laughing and popping crackers he'd stolen from the Great Hall. With an extraordinary bang a large purple hat landed in his lap and he swept it onto his head, grinning broadly. Sirius wanted to laugh but didn't feel welcome. At that moment James caught his eye and his smile faltered. His eyes darted towards the floor and then back to Sirius's before he flipped the hat in the air and returned to his game.


	46. Chapter 46

It was two days before the start of the second semester that Remus forgave Sirius.

He came and stood awkwardly in front of him in the common room and cleared his throat. "I'm done." He said.

Sirius looked up, heart skipping a beat. "You're-"

"I want to be friends again. It's been long enough."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah." Remus paused for a moment looking a little uncomfortable. "I can't keep this up. I want to be friends again."

Sirius leaped at the chance. "Remus I'm so sorry! I was an ass."

Remus put up a hand. "It's alright. I mean, it's not alright but I'm over it."

Across the room James was watching them. Sirius shot him a small smile and Remus turned, motioning him over. "What's going on?" James asked, eying Sirius warily.

"I've forgiven him. I just want us all to be friends again." Remus said, sinking into an arm chair. Sirius met James's eyes but they were cold.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

"James, it's my choice to forgive him. Not yours."

James nodded and slowly took a seat next to Remus. "I. . . uh. . . still got your Christmas presents." He said a bit awkwardly. "Mum sent you a box of cookies but I kind of ate some of them. I can give you the rest."

Sirius shrugged. "I still got yours too. both of your's too."

Remus ran a hand through his hair. "Second Christmas it is." He said. "I'll go get Peter and meet you in the dormitory."

They nodded and Sirius and James got to their feet a little awkwardly, swinging their arms. Sirius was desperate not to screw up. Now that he had his best friends back he had to keep it that way.

They hurried up to their dormitory and quickly busied themselves with their trunks. After a moment of digging James looked up. "I felt bad about it. . ." He said. "Christmas morning when you only had one present I mean. I wanted to give you yours but.. .. I was still pissed. Did your parents not send you anything again?"

Sirius shook his head, piling the unwrapped gifts on his bed. "Nah but i didn't really expect them to. My uncle did. I'll show you what he sent later. It's pretty cool."

James's expression piked with interest and he grinned. "I know I sound like a pratt but it wasn't easy being mad at you."

"Listen, I really didn't mean to tell him."

James sighed. "Maybe not but you did."

"I don't know how I can make it up."

"Remus forgave you. You don't have to."

"Do you forgive me?"

James paused. "I'm not gonna pretend I'm not pissed but Remus wants me to forgive you and i want everything to be the way it was before so. . . let's just shake hands and be done with it."

They reached across his bed and shook and James relaxed. "So what have you been us to?" He asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Little of this, little of that. Not much, really."

"We've been keeping up with the potion. It's not ready yet but we're closer."

Sirius felt a wave of excitement. it was good to be back in theses conversations. "How much longer do you think it'll take?"

"I'm thinking maybe two months. two and a half at most and you'll never guess what we managed the other night!"

"What?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"Well Peter was digging around in the magical cartography section in the library and he found a book on plotting and we've been trying it for weeks! Finally Remus and I were able to get the map to track everyone. I mean EVERYONE! Every single person in the castle, right down to the teachers!"

Sirius glanced towards the door and suddenly it was like the last month hadn't happened. "Show me!" He pleaded.

James swept the presents aside and dug the map out of his trunk, spreading it out on the bed. "Look at it! It's nearly done. There are just a few rooms we're having trouble getting to stay on the page. I don't know if they're unplottable or what but we'll figure it out. Until then, we've got all the important places. Great Hall, courtyards, stairs. Even the bathrooms. Look, there's Longbottom with that Alice girl they're. . ." He paused, squinting at the dots. "In an empty class room. Well, good for him. I think. Oh, and there's that twit Bertha Jorkins. Did you hear about her? Evans nearly jinxed her for gossiping too much. And there's Evans." His eyes lingered on her dot and Sirius found himself happy to roll his eyes. "Anyway, just look at it!" he gazed down proudly.

"That's really amazing!" Sirius said, a little sad that he hadn't been there to share in the moment of success.

"Only problem is that it still shows you if you're under the invisibility cloak. We tried to fix that but we haven't quite worked taht one out yet."

"Still, it's brilliant!" Sirius cried. "I mean really." He watched the dot labeled Professor Dumbledore as it made it's way towards the astronomy tower. "Teachers too." He breathed.

"Completely agree with you mate." James said. "I mean. . ." He face became grave. "I hope it still works when the rest of the school gets back. I don't know if it'll only show the people who were here at the time or if it can plot new people. It should but you never know. Also, i don't know if it'll remember you once you leave the grounds."

"We should test it!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Why don't two of us sneak into the forest or something to night and then the other two watch the map. I mean we have the cloak and. . . this!" He reached into his sock drawer and pulled out the pocket door.

"What's that?" James asked curiously.

Sirius explained and the next second they were taking turns using to move from one side of the room to the other, stepping out of the wall. Each time a door would open and then pop out of existence once they were through. James stood looking at his own back for a few seconds. "Wicked!" He said, tossing the knob to Sirius. "Really wicked!"

A second later a haggered looking Remus stepped into the room, followed by Peter who was very red in the face. "What on earth took you so long?" James asked.

"I was in the library." Peter said.

James made a face. "Why? You don't read."

Sirius sniggered.

"I do to and I see you two have made up." Peter said sourly.

"We all have." Remus said, leaning over to watch a dot labled Argus Filch pace angriy around a hall and then stop in front of the empty class room Frank and Alice were in. "Busted." He said, eyes twinkling.

"Enough of this. It's time for second Christmas!" James declared, seating himself on the bed and waiting to be told which presents were his.

"The book." Sirius said, pointing. James flipped it over and read the cover. 100 Wizards Who Broke 100 Records: Quidditch Edition.

"Good Pick." He said. "Here's yours.

Sirius ended up with a box of smoke bombs from Remus that could be told when to detonate and would follow a person around if told to and a new chess set from James. After a moment of embarrassed laughter James tossed him a box of half eaten cookies. "Sorry." He muttered. Sirius shrugged and bit into one.

After that they planned out that night's adventures. It seemed the most logical thing to jump right back into the swing of things. Their plan was to use the pocket door to get outside the castle and then head to the edge of the map to test it. Even in the snow the idea of another adventure excited them and so that night they waited until the other boys in their dormitory were asleep and headed down to the common room with the cloak, map and door knob.

After a quick check to make sure the common room was empty Sirius placed the knob against the wall and gave it a sharp turn, thinking hard about a spot of wall next to the school's front doors. Instantly a tall oak door appeared and he opened it, revealing a large amount of snow on the other side.

Sirius adjusted his cloak and stepped through, instantly a gust of cold wind hit him and he shivered. "Hurry up!" He muttered. The rest of them quickly shuffled through and he closed the door, making it disappear with a quiet popping sound.

James adjusted the cloak under his robes and they set off across the grounds, laughing loudly and without fear of being caught. Up ahead there shown a single light emanating from the groundskeeper's hut. James jerked his head and they veered to the left to avoid it. Next to him Remus was studying the map. "Alright, so the two of you need to keep walking. Go maybe a few yards into the trees and I'll call you back."

They did as they were told, the excitement of being out of the castle and the joy of being friends again staving off the cold. "Are we still on the map?" James yelled as he and Sirius passed a row of trees.

"Yeah, just a little further." Remus called. Next to him Peter clutched the pocket door and the cloak and was standing watch.

They headed in a little deeper, this time losing sight of Remus. "Now?"

"Yeah, you're off now come back." They started to return and in the distance could see Peter and Remus bent over the map. "Yeah you came back. It's permanent. We-" Remus stopped. They could hear a crunching sound. Sirius and James froze and Peter threw the cloak over himself and Remus. The crunching sound continued and they quickly ducked behind a tree.

A moment later a giant figure loomed out of the darkness. "Who's there?" It called out. "Who's out here who ought not to be?"

Sirius groaned inwardly, knowing they would be caught. Next to him he could tell James was weighing the merits of fleeing into the forest but whatever his decision was they never found out because at that moment the figure lifted a lantern, casting light over all of them.

"What do you two think you're doing?" The voice boomed. In the light of the lantern they saw that it was the groundskeeper Hagird.

Sirius glanced at James but he was frozen with a rather dumb look on his face. "Evening." He said.

"Evening? Evening! What the ruddy hell you two think you're doing in the forest in the middle of the night. I'm telling professor Dumbeldore." He grabbed them both by the back of their necks and hauled them towards the castle. "Sneakin' out. . . if I hadn't seen someone runnin' across the grounds. . ." Hagrid paused. "Looked like there was more of you." He stopped and cast a wary eye around but found non one and continued to drag them towards the castle.

"Listen, Professor Dumbeldore's probably trying to sleep. I don't want to wake him up." James said as smoothly as he could.

"Yeah you know, why ruin his holidays?" Sirius chimed in.

"You two must think you're a couple of jokers, don't you?"

Unable to stop himself Sirius opened his mouth. "I mean, yeah I think I'm funny."

Hagrid made a sound that clearly said he did not but it sounded good natured.

They nearly made it to Dumbeldore's office but were intercepted by Filch who looked positively gleeful to dish out a detention. "I was gonna take them to Professor Dumbeldore. . ." Hagrid said ruefully. By then they he had started to win him over and even gotten him laughing at a few of their jokes.

"I can handle them. I've done it enough before." Filch said, giving them a look of strong dislike.

Hagrid shrugged. "Sorry boys."

They gave him hurt looks. "Night Hagrid!" James called after him. "I forgive you for turning us in!"

"Quite your babbling." Filch growled. "You two are in big trouble this time. Suspension at least. I'm writing Professor Dumbledore."

James and Sirius glanced at each other and all at once it was very difficult to keep from laughing. It felt so good to be getting into trouble together again. Everything seemed very funny and Filch must have seen something on their faces because he turned around, eyes narrowed. "Think it's funny do you? We'll see who's laughing! You have my word the dungeons are the place for you two. hang you upside down and let the rats gnaw on you."

"If there's rats you're not doing a very good job, are you?" Sirius asked before he could stop himself. James guffawed next to him with glee and Filch's face spazmed with fury.

"That's it! Professor Dumbledore will hear about this! He steered them along the hall muttering nastily between sharp intakes of breath. Sirius and James could not help but feel impervious to whatever was to come because they were friends again and all was right in the world. A funny thing to think when you were in trouble.

By the time they reached the head master's office Filch was completely winded and had to stop before he could give the password. He eyed them hatefully before resuming his march, pushing them up the winding stair case. "Wait here." he snarled outside of Dumbledore's door. He disappeared and a few second later they heard him call for them.

With amused looks Sirius and James entered the office just in time to see a look of surprise flit across Dumbledore's face.

"Mr. Filch says that Mr. Hagrid accosted the two of you trying to get into the forest. I must say that that's not something I can condone." Far from anger Dumbledore looked amused. "Were you two alone?"

"Yes!" They both said at once.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Such loyalty to friends and I take it you two are friends again?"

Sirius and James glanced at each other and nodded. "Yeah." Said James a little more loudly than was necessary.

"I had a feeling you would be but I suppose that called for the two of you to solidify your friendship with trouble. Therefor I feel it is only fitting that I award the two of you a joint detention and dock five points each." He gave them a more serious look. "Do you find that Suitable, Mr. Filch."

Filch's jaw quivered as though he would have liked to suggest something more extreme but he merely nodded. "I've got some bathrooms that could use some work."

Sirius and James turned to each other with mouths open in horror and Dumbledore smiled. "Then I will leave it to you to decide their fate. And for the two of you, I'm glad you were able to reconcile. Friendship is a truly valuable commodity."

"Yes sir." Said James with steely eyes. "I understand that."

Sirius looked between them and he understood to because he never felt more at home or more wanted then when he was with his friends. It made him appreciate James all the more.


	47. Chapter 47

When the rest of the school returned from the holidays they could not place what exactly had transpired in their absence but it was plain to everyone that James Potter and Sirius Black were friends again and that they had gotten in trouble again and that more than anything proved that things were back to normal.

In the days that followed they were more rambunctious than ever, somehow wanting to prove to the world that they were back. Remus and Peter followed along good naturedly and with in a week of school the pocket knob was confiscated. But more than trouble, more than worrying about confiscated door knobs their thoughts were preoccupied by the animagus potion brewing on an upper floor. It was maturing just as planned and when February rolled around they were tasked with a uniquely challenging portion of the spell.

According to all of the books they had they would each have to carry around a Mandrake root in their mouths for an entire month. A significantly challenging feat because it made talking and eating very difficult. Getting the leaves was a very simple task as there were plenty of Mandrakes in the school green houses but remembering not to talk too much and to eat carefully was another. As far as the school staff was concerned James Potter and Sirius Black had never been so quiet in their entire lives.

Several teaches asked if they were sick and several others debated weather or not they were up to something. James was particularly troubled by Quidditch and had to start over after he swallowed his leaf during a match.

When two months had passed and they had all finished, James holding them back they were able to able to move on to the next bit of magic. Remus frequently commented that they needed to get it done before school ended but before they knew it they were bogged down with homework and exams and things became hectic. Between classes and the complicated magic they were preforming they had little sleep and they became irritable. James had lost the house ten points after hexing a group of third years for talking too loudly in the hall and Sirius had gotten another detention for putting a full body bind curse on a sixth year Ravenclaw boy for no particular reason other than the boy's nasily breathing had irritated him.

However, despite everything their hard work payed off with the first successful step in transfiguring themselves. On a bright Sunday morning in May Peter sprouted whiskers. Over come with glee they threw themselves into their efforts again. Sirius was the first to transform. After several attempts that yielded just an unusual amount of hair on his face and arms he found himself on all fours wagging a tail enthusiastically.

Stunned by this success James and the others cheered and Sirius, feeling quite pleased with himself barked loudly. "Shhhh! Shhhh!" James hissed, glancing towards the door. Still, his face was beaming. "Brilliant! Sirius, you're a dog! Bloody brilliant! Come here, let me pet you!" Sirius padded over to him and let James pet the top of his head, looking around at the others. James picked up one of his feet, now paws and examined it. "Merlin's beard you're a big dog! Remus, look at his paws, they're huge!"

Remus bent down in interest and Sirius licked his face, causing his friend to pull a look of disgust and draw back. "Really gross, Sirius!" He said, laughing. "Guess you should have a dog name, shouldn't you?"

He barked.

"Alright, how about. . . FiddlePaws. My uncle had a dog named that." Peter suggested.

Sirius shook his head and sent the others into keels of laughter. Obviously it was quite funny to see a dog carry a conversation.

"Padfoot." James said.

Sirius thought about it and quickly turned back into a human. They had learned quickly before attempting the transformation that to turn back it took a lot of focus and will and a small reversal spell. "I'll take it!" He said.

They laughed for a while more and the changed back into a dog and then back to a human and then back again several times. It seemed that once he had the hang of it it was quite easy. "If I'm Padfoot, then Remus should be Mooney." He said, laughing as James made the hair that had sprung up on his arms disappear.

As the days passed they got closer and by the last week of school only Peter was still trying. James had turned into a stag rather impressively and after almost skewing Sirius with his horns gained the nick name Prongs. Days before the end of term feast Peter finally managed to transform into a rat. In fact, compared to James and Sirius he was so small they couldn't figure out what had happened. After a moment's frantic searching they found him crawling on top of a desk and had to laugh with glee. "Good man!" James cheered. "Good man! Well lads, what do we call him?"

"Ratso." Sirius said with a grin.

Peter turned back and glared at him. "No way!" He said.

"Wormtail." James interjected.

Peter looked as though he was going to object but then shrugged. "Better." He said.

They finished the year on a high note. Slytherin won the house cup but then again it was probably their fault. They had lost Gryffindor a lot of points. If anything, Sirius was too distracted by the end of the year festivities to dread going home.

It was James who actually brought it up. They were the last two out of the dormitory on the final morning. "I haven't asked my parents but if you want you could probably stay with us." James said.

Sirius rolled his head on his shoulders. "Thanks mate but I should probably get home. They'll probably come looking for me if I don't."

James nodded. "Okay but if it get's like last time you can always come over. Mum and dad are crazy about you. I think they like you more than me."

Sirius grinned. "Well who wouldn't."

They set off laughing towards the gates to the school and Sirius faught to keep his heart from sinking. His parents were bound to be furious. Still, he had a few more hours with his friends and there would be letters and the summer wouldn't be forever. He glanced at James who was singing a rock anthem rather loudly and laughing as he did so. Next to them Lily Evans and Snape passed by, Lily giving James a rather amused look before rolling her eyes and Snape giving them both nasty glares.

Sirius shrugged it off and laughed along with Remus and Peter as they followed James down to the village. They were next in line to board the train when a girl came running up. Sirius recognized her as Agatha Flynn from the Christmas feast and grinned. "What's up?" He asked.

She giggled. "Quick! I just got dared and I need you to kiss me!" She said, laughing madly as she did so.

Stunned for only a moment he glanced back at James who's eyebrows had shot upwards and who was now grinning widely. With a shrug he looped his arm around her and kissed her. He had only a vague notion that this was his first kiss before the whoops and cheers of his friends made him laugh so hard the kiss was broken. A little ways away he could hear the shrieks of Agatha's friends.

A little dazed he turned to grin at his friends. "If the rest of my summer goes like this then I might never come back to school." He said.

James was now looking at him with something close to disbelief and seizing the chance Sirius pushed past him onto the train feeling smug.

"Unbelievable!" James chorused behind him. "Just unbelievable. She just came up to you like that! Why aren't girls doing that to me? I'm a Quidditch player for crying out loud!"

"Harmonia Rathbone had a crush on you for almost three years." Remus pointed out. "But you never even looked at her."

"Yeah because all he could think about was Evans." Sirius grinned.

"Sod off." James muttered. "I did so notice Rathbone, only she's got too big a nose."

"You're thinking of her friend Patricia." Peter said with a laugh.

"Ah Beaky. She's a nice girl." Sirius said.

"Yeah? Why don't you go kiss her?" James huffed, pretending to be more irritated than he actually was.

A few moment later the train lurched forward and they were in motion. Sirius eased back into his seat and tried not to think about the days to follow. it made him sick to think that tomorrow morning he would wake up at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He scowled a little at the thought.

James noticed and elbowed him. "Cheer up mate. You're always welcome at my place."

He nodded and then ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, you're right. You wanna go find a Slytherin to hex before we reach London?"

James laughed. "Got to be one somewhere that deserves hexing."

"One?" Sirius asked, grinning. "I reckon there's a lot more than that mate."

Remus glanced at them but didn't say anything. Sirius wondered if he wanted to but was interrupted from his thoughts by the compartment door being opened. Frank Longbottom came tumbling in looking thrilled.

"I just got an Owl!" He exclaimed. "The Ministry says that If I get and O on my Defense Against the Dark Arts N.E. next year that I can become and Auror! Honestly they didn't even mention me getting an O on anything else. They said and E would be fine." He paused for a minute. "I guess that's because they need more people now. What with all the stuff going on."

James clapped him on the back. "Congratulations! I know you can do it."

"Alice said she's gonna try too but I know she'll do fine. She's brilliant." He grinned widely. "Well I just wanted you all to know!" And with that he hurried off down the train to go and tell someone else.

"Well he's in a good mood." James said.

"That's a pretty big thing." Peter said, looking impressed. "I bet it'd be really cool to be an Auror!"

Sirius grinned, imagining it. "I've never met one but I've heard stories." He said. "They take on the darkest wizards."

"So your mum and dad then." James said, smirking a little.

Sirius opened his mouth to retort but broke out laughing. "They'd like to think they're that important!" He said, feeling only a slight twinge at the thought.

Remus frowned but laughed along. "Do you think they'd let a Werewolf join?" He asked, eyes full of mischief.

"Why, you wanna be their attack dog?" James asked.

He laughed. "I think that's more Sirius's job." He said.

Sirius grinned. "Woof." He said.

Over the laughter he caught a glimpse of Remus's expression. He was laughing but there was something sad behind it and he knew what it was. Joking aside they all knew a Werewolf would never work for the Ministry. Remus knew it more than anyone.

"Oi Wormtail." James said, an evil glint sparking in his eye. "I heard that Eleuchadius Cedwick is terrified of rats and didn't he make a comment about you being half squib?"

Peter's face turned red at the memory of the insult. Eleuchadius Cedwick was a Slytherin in their year who had made fun of him after he'd repeatedly failed to turn a jewelry box into a tortoise.

"I think you should pay him a visit." Sirius said.

Remus laughed. "Crawl up his robes." He suggested.

A looked of evil delight spread across Peter's face and after a quick glance out the compartment door he transformed into a rat and set off, James bowing him out. The second he was gone the three of them scrambled for the invisibility cloak and followed, barely containing their laughed and making a first year jump when Sirius accidentally stepped on his foot.

They found Eleuchadius in a compartment packed with Slytherins. He was bragging loudly to a trio of girls about becoming a dueling champion. "Flitwick says I've got real talent and I normally wouldn't give him too much mind but he does know about these things." He said loudly. Sirius caught sight of his brother sitting next to a blonde girl in a corner. Whatever they were talking about she looked like she was close to swooning. He frowned, feeling both annoyed and pleased for his brother. Regulus's talent at Quidditch had earned him a kind of fan club among the girls. This one he seemed to be interested in back.

They watched as a Slytherin boy stepped out and Peter darted in. He made straight for Eleuchadius's leg and scampered up, popping up on his knee and squeaking as loudly as he could. Eleuchadius let out a shrill scream and began flailing wildly, kicking his legs. From his corner Regulus and the girl shrank back looking confused and shocked. Sirius and the others broke into loud fits of laughter and Eleuchadius kicked wildly and hopped up and down on his seat, banging his head twice on the ceiling. "RAT! RAT! There are rats on the train!"

Quietly James slid the door open just enough for Peter to squeeze out and the our of them hurried back to their compartment, leaving Regulus looking annoyed and the girls less than impressed.

"Well done mate!" James cried, clapping Peter on the back once he had returned to human form. "I think he wet himself!"

"I hope!" Peter said, face red and grinning.

They finished the rest of the trip laughing loudly and even receiving a visit from a prefect who asked them to kindly keep it down.

By the time they reached the station Sirius felt that he had laughed enough that day to be able to deal with his parents. They waited until they were the last four off the train before going to greet the Potters who stood with the Lupins and Petigrews, talking amicably.

"What on earth took so long?" Mrs. Petigrew asked, Sirius had noticed long before that she had a tendency towards worry. Peter gave her an affectionate hug and told her they had wanted to avoid the crowd. The Lupins greeted their son quite happily and before he felt left out Mrs. Potter gave Sirius a quick hug.

"Are you alright, dear?" She asked.

Sirius nodded, decidedly not looking around for his parents. "I'm great. How are you?"

She laughed. "I can't complain. Did you two stay out of trouble?"

"Eh, we did alright." James said, grinning. They hadn't and she knew it. They talked for a while more before the Lupins and the Petigrews left and it was just Sirius and the Potters.

"I should get going." He said, hating to leave.

"Alright." Mr. Potter said, giving Sirius a kindly look. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to write. You're always welcome with us."

"Thanks." He said, shaking Mr. Potter's hand and giving Mrs. Potter another short hug. He bade goodbye to James and began wandering through the thinning crowd, looking for his parents. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the Potter's leaving and wished he could have been with them. Still. . . he tightened his grip on his trunk and resumed his search but as more and more people filtered out he began to worry. Unless they were hiding his parents weren't there. He stood for a minute on the semi empty platform feeling quite cold. This was his mother's doing. He knew it. He cursed her silently and looked around again. It was only him and two families deep in conversation with each other. He caught snippets of their conversation.

The fathers were talking. "Remember when we got in trouble for taking those brooms across the lake fifth year?" One asked, laughing as his wife told their son not to get any ideas. Sirius stopped listening and dragged his trunk towards the gate, ears feeling hot and hands clammy. Kings Cross Station bore no sign of his parents. They had come and gotten his brother and left him. He stood rooted to the spot, huge trunk in tow all alone.

"Damn it." He cursed. He had no owl and eve if he did who would he contact? For that matter he had no muggle money. A porter was eyeing him and he began to move again, eventually coming to a halt outside the station. Cars were pulling up and away all around him and it was getting late. He dragged his trunk a little before spotting a trolly left behind. That made things easier but still. . . he pushed it forward and away, trying to figure out what to do. He could try hitching a ride but that wasn't likely. He walked a few more paces, putting some distance between himself and the station, hoping that no one would make him return the trolly.

His heart was beating fast but weather or not that was from anger or panic he couldn't tell. He sat down on the curb and hung his head, trying to think. he dug through his pockets looking for money and counted out how much he had. He suddenly regretted spending so much on the lunch trolly. Suddenly a dozen sugar quills didn't seem worth it. He was just a little short for a ticket for the Knight Bus. Sighing his put the money away and ran a hand through his hair. He could walk to his house but it would take all night and anyway he wasn't entirely sure how to get there. Feeling distinctly miserable he got to his feet and began walking again, This was unfair. He hadn't even done anything this time. Was it punishment for running off to the Potters' the previous summer?

He kicked a rock and wondered if using magic would be acceptable. This counted as an emergency, right? He was lost in the middle of London all because of his bitch of a mother. Furiously he whipped out his wand and paused. He had no idea what spell would help him. Angrily he put it away. Then it came to him. The two way mirror but. . . that was somewhere at the bottom of his trunk and he wasn't about to start digging through it in the middle of the street. He sighed and sat down again. Maybe the Knight Bus would take pity on him. . . it was worth a try. He stuck out his arm and waited.

A moment later the massive purple bus came screeching to a halt. "Welcome to the Knight Bus!" A man yelled. He recognized Ernie from the previous summer. "Where can we deliver you to?"

"Look," Sirius said loudly, shouting over the engine. "I haven't got enough money and my parents didn't pick me up from the train. Can I still get a ride?"

Looking distinctly displeased Ernie jumped overboard. "This ain't a bleedin' charity." He said crossly. "It's a business. A legitimate business and we can't go giving passengers free rides willy nilly."

Feeling rather confrontational Sirius squared his shoulders. "I've got almost enough. I'm two knuts short."

"You're holdin' us up!" Ernie shouted as the Engine revved.

"Look, just give me a ride and I'll pay you when I get to my house."

Reaching within Ernie grabbed a rolled up piece of parchment. "Bus rule number thirty-five, no IOUs. No exception."

Feeling close to punching the man Sirius tore at his hair. "Look I'm desperate. I'm only fourteen." He tried appealing to Ernie's humanity but his voice came out harsh and angry and not at all like a lost fourteen year old.

However Ernie did look a little sympathetic. "Lemme ask Walt. He ducked back in and then came back a minute later. "Walt says you can come aboard. You don't have to pay."

Elated Sirius scrambled to gather up his trunk and threw himself in.

"Where to?" Ernie asked ruefully.

"Number 12 Grimmauld Place."

"Well at least you're just around the corner." He muttered. "Gotta stop by Whitechapel first. Bloke's been waiting since Glasgow." He pointed to an apparently half sober wizard who sat blinking painfully in the dim light. "Man was completely tossed when he first got on. Not a bad chap though."

Sirius sank back in his seat. He couldn't believe his luck. Well, any of his luck. he checked his watch. It was only 8:01. Sighing he closed his eyes and tried to fight off the wave of anger that was washing over him. He hated his mother. "You stupid bitch." He growled, driving his head back against the head rest. Ernie gave him a curious look but was distracted by a short wizard asking when they would be arriving in Birmingham.

The stop in Whitechapel came and went and when finally they pulled aside to drop him off he thanked Ernie and the driver profusely.

"Twas nothin'." Ernie said. "Just try and have the fare next time? There's a good lad."

With a bang the bus was gone and he was standing outside his front door. Suddenly, all of his drive to get home disappeared and he wished he were still on the bus. His mother was behind that door and so was his brother and the whole stinking lot of them right down to his smarmy little brother. He stood for a long moment, considering sleeping in an alley somewhere. It was drastic, sure but somehow it was still more appealing than going into that house.

Eventually however he mustered up the will power and turned the knob. It was locked. He closed his eyes, force of will draining away and anger taking over him. Alohamora wouldn't work. His father was far too paranoid to leave the door unprotected. He stood feeling somehow satisfied that after everything all that stood between him and his bed was a piece of wood. That one crummy lock was stopping him. Finally he rang the bell and a moment later the door opened. he expected to see his mother but instead Kreature stood, half bowing and glaring at him.

"Welcome home, Master." he said simperingly. "Kreature didn't know if you would be joining us."

"Cut the crap and get out of the way." he snarled, wanting someone to bully. He shoved Kreature aside and marched towards the kitchen. "Is there any dinner?"

"There were no left overs." Kreature said, eyes glinting happily. "Mistress did not want them to waste and had them thrown out."

"Yeah, wasted on me more like."

"Mistress said you would not be joining us this evening." Kreature continued, looking intensely curious.

"Yeah well, dreams don't always come true, do they?"

Kreature bowed his head, oily as ever and he could have sworn he heard the elf mutter an agreement. Not in the mood for more insults he dragged his trunk up to his room and threw himself down on the bed. He was stiff with anger. His mother always went and ruined everything. . . she was so horrible and he had been having such a good day.


	48. Chapter 48

Sirius was determined to rub his presence in his parents' faces the next morning. He joined them for breakfast a little aggressively, staring at his mother.

"Oh," She said in coldly false surprise. "You're here. I thought you'd be staying with the Potters. If we had known we would have picked you up."

Across the table Regulus was staring at his food. Sirius caught him sneak a glance their way and shot him a nasty look. His brother frowned and ducked his head. "Yeah I'm sure you would have." He grumbled to his mother who continued to survey him icily over her tea cup.

"How did you get home?" She asked sharply.

"Knight Bus." He muttered, slapping butter on some toast.

She sneered, nose wrinkling unattractively. "Pseudo muggle contraption. Run by mudbloods. I bet you fit right in."

He felt a muscle in his temple throb.

She narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get the money? Your father and I haven't given you any."

"Gave me a ride for free." He muttered.

"Hmph. Begging now? I'm really not surprised."

He glowered at her. "What could I do? My parents didn't pick me up from the train."

She gave him a nasty look. "I'm sure the Potters would have."

"Yeah, they would have." He said bluntly and a little loudly.

"Don't raise your voice to me. We both wish you weren't here."

They finished their breakfast in silence, only looking up when Regulus darted out. "Your brother's a good boy." His mother said dryly. "He hasn't gotten one detention. I wouldn't be surprised if he was made head boy."

"Yeah me neither." Sirius snorted crudely, trying to fit in a double entente.

She gave him a hateful look. "You're just disgusting and you're jealous of your brother. He's smarter than you and more talented. Your father and I have been meaning to go and watch him play Quidditch."

"Yeah he's a lot smarter than me." Sirius said sarcastically

"Better mannered too." She sneered.

He gave her a raised eyebrow. In truth it was one of the most civil conversations he'd had with her in a long while. Best not to ruin it. He got up from the table and headed back to his room. It was a beautiful summers day out and he sure as hell wasn't going to spend it couped up with her. He dressed quickly and hurried out, ignoring his father who in turn ignored him, most likely having already spoken to his mother.

Outside he set off down the street, kicking a rock and glaring back at the front door occasionally. He felt as though he had somehow outsmarted her by getting home. It was a victory although he wasn't sure the reward of getting to spend the next several months being sneered at and insulted was worth it. He found the neighborhood park which had weathered a little since he'd first started going to it. The pain on the jungle gym was pealing and someone had thrown all but two of the swings over the top bar. He took one that was still hanging and began to swing, watching a little boy pull a wagon around a tree in repetitive circles.

Now that he was out and had nothing to do he felt his bad mood creep up on him. He had a feeling it was going to be a very moody summer and couldn't help but wish he was elsewhere. He kicked at a rock and dug his toe into the dirt before getting to his feet and setting off to find Denny's house.

When he got there the house looked much the same as it had, a little more worn down but still pleasantly kept up. He knocked on the door and was met by Alice who smiled widely at him approach.

Sirius for his part broke into a grin. She was pregnant and huge. Her once long hair had been cropped off and was now shoulder length. She beamed and gave him an awkward hug, turning sideways to do so. "Is school out already?" She asked, still smiling.

He nodded, brushing his hair back. "Yeah, got out yesterday."

"Oh come in, come in!" She stepped back and waved a hand, face smiling and beaming all the while.

He stepped into the room and she lead the way to the kitchen. The dog was asleep under the table and he wracked his brains to try and remember it's name but came up short. With a slight blush she hurried to scoop a stack of papers off of the table. Sirius caught the heading of one and realized with slight embarrassment that it was a bill. He turned his head and let her put them up.

They sat down together and she asked if he wanted tea. "Sure but let me get it." He said.

She laughed. "Sirius, I've been doing this for eight months. I'll be fine."

He leaped to his feet."I mean it, let me get it." He hurried around the kitchen to fill the kettle. "So what have you guys been up to. I mean besides that." He gestured at her stomach good naturedly.

"Well Denny's still working at the factory and I've been doing house cleaning. Well not much lately but enough."

They sat back and she opened a box of crackers. "Sorry we don't have too much to eat here, money's been a little tight. How was school?"

He shrugged. "Pretty good. I uh, had a bit of a falling out with some friends but we fixed things."

She gave him a sad smile. "That's always difficult but I'm glad you worked it out."

"Yeah. . . you hear anything from Sean?"

"Well he's still working for his dad but I don't know much. He doesn't write much."

He nodded.

"But that's just people." She said, smiling a little sadly. "You don't always stay friends forever."

He nodded again a little sourly. He had never thought about that before. Somehow it had always just been accepted that he, James, Remus and Peter would all be friends until they died. He couldn't even picture it any other way because why wouldn't they? But Alice was right. Sometimes people just drifted apart or moved away and a kind of terror filled him at the thought. He couldn't imagine ever finding people like his friends because there just couldn't be another person like James out there. No one had his spark or charisma. No one and there was no one like Remus or Peter either. He didn't think that he would ever have a friend he would click with so easily.

Alice let him sit quietly for a minute before patting his hand. "You'll be okay. Sometimes friends don't leave. Look at Denny and me. We've known each other since we were fifteen and now we're having a baby.

He nodded. She was right about that too but in the back of his mind he couldn't help thinking that really, he didn't want to be friends with anyone the way he was friends with James and the others because if he couldn't be friends with them forever then no one else would do.

He shrugged off the thought and spent the rest of the day helping Alice around the house until she declared that it was time for her to take a nap and let him go. Back on the street he wondered around aimlessly. For much of his childhood he had been confined to the house and the bit of street just in front of the door but now he parents' rules seemed stupid and stifling and there was no reason for him to not wander further. He explored the surrounding streets and alleys, jumping out of the way of cars and generally enjoying himself. There were kids out playing in the sun and other people enjoying the day. He felt a world away from his family and somehow also from school and his friends. It was easy to pretend that he didn't have any trouble. He wished he had some pocket change because a store was selling cokes and he wanted one. Grinning a little at the idea of muggle money because he had no real idea how it worked. The paper was confusing. He walked for a bit more before finally heading home. It was getting late and as much as he didn't want to he was hungry and it was getting dark.

He arrived home just before dinner and found his parents sitting pleasantly in the living room. They ignored him and he passed on to his bedroom, passing by his brother on the way. Regulus gave him an annoyed look and he shot back with a look of irritation. "Sod off." He muttered to his brother.

Regulus scowled and continued on down the stairs. Sirius watched him before shutting himself up in his room. He lay back on his bed and stared up at his ceiling, feeling an immediate sense of restriction. He hated it. he hated being in his room and in his parents' house. He hated everything and it was a pain too because he had just spent a nice morning and afternoon with Alice.

He moped around for a while more before he heard his mother yelling for dinner. Her voice was as shrill as ever and bitingly so. He contemplated not going down but his stomach rumbled and he gave in.

He trudged down the stairs and found his family sitting down to dinner. None of them looked particularly happy to see him and his brother visibly tensed. He rolled his eyes. They were morons. He took a seat and his parents began to talk. "Both Narcissa and Lucius." His father said. "Rather tacky I think but Bellatrix is very proud and I can't say I disagree with them."

Sirius rolled his eyes. Bellatrix, Narcissa, Lucius. He hated just the sound of their names.

"They call themselves Death Eaters. Again, rather tacky name. But what can you say, they're mostly young. Still, I feel they're a little extremest for my tastes."

Sirius froze, fork just touching his lips. There had been a whisper of Death Eaters. Mysterious, hooded wizards who went around killing whole families. "You don't like them?" He blurted out.

His father gave him a raised eyebrow and his mother's face wrinkled in distaste, no doubt disgusted over his table manners. "I feel that they're very. . . shall we say extreme and although I don't find them particularly bothersome I can't help but feel that they're really just starting trouble."

"Still, cleaning up the rabble. You know maybe if they had started earlier you would have turned out better." His mother said, giving Sirius a look of intense dislike.

Across from him Regulus squared his shoulders and fixed his gaze on his plate. Sirius wondered what he was thinking and felt himself grow hot under the collar. "Yeah, cause killing kids always solves my problems." He snapped.

"Well if the ministry was doing it's job this wouldn't be happening. Honestly Orion, what was it your sister proposed? Another school so if they wanted to send their brats to class they could do so without disrupting or tainting our children. I'd be fine with that."

Sirius scowled. "You think it's necessary?" He snarled. "You think killing a whole bunch of people is necessary?"

"That's not what I said." She snapped, mirroring his scowl. "Why don't you try listening?"

"I am listening and I don't like much what I'm hearing. You're twisted." He was aware that his mother hadn't quite used the words he was putting in her mouth but he knew she was still thinking them. "You're sitting here talking about people's lives."

"I am talking about Mudbloods and traitors." Here eyes flickered over him, darting up and down and her face set into a nasty smirk. "Something you seem so desperately to want to be."

"Well I'm sure as shit not gonna go around blowing up families to get my jollies."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you get those from bringing shame to ours."

"You're damn right I do. Infac-" He was cut off.

"Silencio." His father muttered, pointing his wand at Sirius.

Sirius for his part clutched angrily at his throat, realizing what his father had done. He glared at him furiously before storming from the table, knocking his chair over as he went. Out in the hall he swore silently. His parents had used silencing spells on him when he was little but they hand't in years. He'd forgotten just how infuriating it was. He thought about returning to the dining room and kicking over a few more pieces of furniture before stomping out the front door. The spell would wear off in a few hours and when it did he would go home.

Outside he was met by dusk's gray light and suddenly everything felt much better. He wasn't trapped in the dingy house, he wasn't near his parents and there was nothing they could do to stop him out here. He kicked a rock and slouched down the street. Again he wished he had some muggle money. He hadn't gotten to eat at dinner and he couldn't go to Alice and Denny's. There was no way he could explain how his voice was suddenly gone and more than that he didn't feel right about dumping his problems on them.

He wondered the neighborhood, watching an old lady work her shopping cart up the steps. She seemed to be doing okay and before he could think about helping she had it inside. There was something exciting about being out in the muggle world. He was out where his parents wanted him least and on his own. He brushed his hair back from his neck and slouched onward. There weren't too many people out but that was fine. As he walked a few kids were let loose for some last minute playing and women were talking over garden walls. He watched a girl skate up and down in front of her house. Then his temper flared up. These were people his mother was talking about. She didn't have a problem with them dying. He wanted to rage at her but without his voice he figured it would be pretty one sided. He felt his anger increase before he shrugged it off and turned towards home. It was getting dark and if he wasn't careful he would no doubt end up locked outside.

Fortunately he arrive home with no problems and slipped in unnoticed. He crept towards the kitchen, hoping there was no one inside and began digging through the cupboards.

"Mistress says that behavior like that should not be rewarded." A voice said behind him.

Sirius turned on his heel to see Kreature hiding in the shadows. The elf looked positively delighted at his predicament. He tried to tell the elf to sod off but his voice was still gone. Either way Kreature seemed to get the message and crept slowly away.

Sirius resumed digging through the cabinets with more force, looking for something to eat. A second noise behind him made him turn yet again and he prepared to throw a box of crackers at the elf if he had returned. Instead he saw his brother. He opened his mouth to make a snide comment but was still unable to.

Regulus leaned against the doorway scowling. "Do you think you could go maybe one meal without getting in a fight with them?"

Sirius scoffed without making any noise but his brother continued. "I have to live here too you know and I hate listening to it. I hate listening to you and mum fight. And don't even pretend that you don't love it. You love pissing her off. You love arguing. I get so tired of it. Sometimes I wish you would just leave but when you're gone all they do is talk about you too. Mum still gets mad and she still screams and I have to listen to it because you're too bloody wrapped up in yourself to give it a break. Just stop pushing them."

Sirius wanted to retort, in fact he was certain that if his voice did not come back in the next few minutes his head would explode from lack of outlet.

"You're an ass at school too. You strut around acting all bad ass when all you really do is hex people and piss your parents off. It's obnoxious. And you're not that bloody cool either."

Sirius wanted to clock him. He wanted to punch his brothers smug face in but he didn't move. He stood rooted to the spot, letting his brother talk.

"You're just a pain in the ass. Everyone thinks so. The only people who like you are your stupid friend and the morons at school who think you're cool."

Having heard enough he flung a jar of sugar at his brother's head. Regulus sidestepped and glared at him. "I swear to God, you're just like her. I mean it. Now you're throwing things and everything.

Sirius hated that his brother was right. In all honesty he hadn't meant to hit him and the jar had smashed a good foot and a half away from Regulus's head. Still. . . his mother got mad and threw things. He wished he could yell. He was good at yelling. He stood with his temper flaring and no way to get back at his brother. Now that it had been said he couldn't throw something else. He galred at him and the two of them stood for what must have been close to ten minutes before he felt a tickling sensation in the back of his throat and he relaized his voice was back.

He coughed slightly and made a small noise to test it out. "Fuck off Regg." He said.

Regulus looked startled that he could speak again and promptly crossed his arms. "You fuck off. You're the problem. You're the bloody problem. You always are. You make me hate coming home, you know that? I know as soon as I get here I'm gonna have to listen to the two of you."

Sirius interrupted. "So what, you thought it was a right joke when they left me on the platform did you? Real bloody funny. They don't give me any pocket money and I almost didn't get on the Knight Bus. What would I have done?"

Regulus looked a little irritated that he had brought it up. "You could have gone to one of your friends' houses. You do that enough now." He hesitated. "Look, I didn't think it was funny. Mum did. She said it'd teach you a lesson and I'm not gonna get in a fight with her. You know how she can be."

Sirius felt some of his anger ebb. Of course it had been his mother's fault and of course no one had wanted to get in a fight with her. They had all just let it happen. He grit his teeth and began making a sandwich. "Just get lost."

Regulus glared at him. "You're such an ass."

Sirius shrugged, keeping his back to his brother. He was done with the conversation. His mother was crazy, his father was a prick and is brother was a stuck up little twit. After a long moment he heard his brother step out of the room and relaxed. Regulus was such a smarmy little zit. Acting like it was his fault. Like he started every argument. He finished his sandwich and hurried up to his room, leaving the mess for Kreature and doing his best to avoid his parents.


	49. Chapter 49

The next several days were quite routine. He slept in past breakfast and then headed out to wonder around the neighborhood for an hour or two before heading over to Alice's where he spent the rest of the day helping her around the house. He saw Denny a few times but mostly the man was just working and when he was off complained bitterly about how much he worked. He was still fun to be around and on his days off he taught Sirius how to take apart Sean's motorcycle and care for the engine. Sirius asked about Sean a few times but no one had heard anything from him and most of the others who had once hung around Denny and Alice were old news. They had moved on with their lives and again Sirius had that terrible fear of what would happen once they graduated from Hogwarts.

His uncle came to visit around the middle of summer which resulted in a spectacular fight during which Alphard had intervened on Sirius's behalf and called Walburga an insane bitch. Sirius had thought that was very funny and laughed, causing his mother to redirect her anger towards him and his uncle to yell even more loudly. Eventually his uncle left early and Sirius was confined to his room by magic for the next week as his mother blamed him for the fiasco.

The rest of the holidays dragged out in much the same way. He received a few owls from James and the others and responded in kind but left out the fights in his responses. They were having good summers and some how it just felt pathetic to bitch about his family in a letter.

By the end of the summer his mother went to do the school shopping without him and he was left at home. He spent the day with Alice who said she would be having her baby sometime when he was in school. He congratulated her and she laughed brightly. After that he waited with bated breath for the holidays to end. He had row after row with his mother and his brother was acting jumpy and irritable and he had the sinking feeling that the family would have been much happier had he not been around. Part of him wanted very much not to care. To even be glad of this but a very real part of him also wished it wasn't like this.

When the end of the holidays rolled around he thought that they couldn't have come sooner. One more fight and he thought he would go insane. He boarded the train station without so much as a goodbye and waited until James and the others had found him. Remus was the first and he looked rather better off than usual.

"Go somewhere fun?" Sirius asked, wondering if a good holiday had made the difference.

Remus grinned. "We planned to. We were gonna go to the south of France. Mum and dad saved up for it for over a year but then mum heard all these stories about people getting stopped and bothered by these people calling themselves Death Eaters and she thought it was better we didn't try and leave the country."

"So why are you so chipper?"

"Well with all that money saved up I got new robes and books and everything. We've even got some left over."

Sirius had to grin. He knew Remus's family had money troubles and it was good to hear Remus was getting some new things. He himself was in need of some new jeans and shoes but so far his parents had refused to help him. He had managed to get some gold from his uncle but not much. He listened to Remus talk about his summer. His family hadn't been able to make it to France but they had taken a trip to the beach and it sounded like he had had a good summer.

Soon after James and Peter joined them and the three of them sat back, enjoying the ride. Sirius was glad to be back around friends. He felt better than he had all summer and he soon found himself laughing and joking with the others.

They laughed all the way back to school, excited for another year of mischief. They were in their fifth year now and as James mentioned it OWLs would be coming up.

"What do you thin they'll be like?" Remus asked.

"Can't be too bad. Everyone takes them."

"I heard they were really hard." Peter said glumly.

"Lighten up, we always do well on exams." Sirius said.

They talked a bit more and Remus mentioned again how he had been stopped from leaving the country. "There's wizards harassing people leaving England."

"I've heard that." James said darkly. "They ask people their blood status."

"Death Eaters." Sirius growled. "I don't know why the ministry isn't doing anything. It's their bleedin' job."

"Nobody's doing anything." James muttered, glaring out the window.

"And more people are turning up dead." Peter added, face a little paler. He looked scared.

"I wish we could." Sirius muttered. James nodded.

"We're fifteen." Remus said quietly. "What can we do?"

"We won't be fifteen forever and anyway, we can do plenty." James said.

"I'm just sayin' if the ministry can't do anything then I doubt we can. Nobody even knows who's a Death Eater and who's not. The trolly lady could be. We wouldn't know."

"We could start with the Slytherins." James said darkly. "I hear them talk about it. My cousin's a Death Eater. My uncle. Half of them can't wait to get out and sign up. And you know what? As soon as they do, I'll be waiting for them."

"I'll be right there with you mate." Sirius said darkly.

They talked for a bit more before turning to a lighter topic and after that it was jokes and plans for adventure. Sirius put his summer from mind and somehow, sitting in the brightly light carriage it was easy to pretend that there were not Death Eaters out there and there were not people who wanted to hurt their friends and families.

After a little while Remus excused himself from the carriage and disappeared, leaving them all rather puzzled.

"Think it's a girl?" James asked, looking like he was contemplating getting the cloak out.

"No way, he'd have told us." Peter said.

"Maybe he's sick." Sirius said, peering out into the empty hall.

Whatever it was Remus returned around twenty minutes later refusing to say where he had gone and when pressed mumbling vaguely about stomach pain. When no more could be gotten out of him they let up and turned to other talk, Sirius still feeling intensely curious.

When they arrived at school Dumbledore took extra time in warning students of the danger they now faced outside the walls. His somber tone and expression made Sirius wonder just how bad it truly was.

"And I would like to close with the reminder that dark wizards fear love and understanding more than they can hate it. We must strengthen our friendships during this time and hold on to one another for only in doing that can we ever be greater than they." He said. Sirius sat for a moment, thinking of the previous year and of how much having friends meant to him. There'd be no point to any of it if he didn't.

"Potter!" A voice called out as an older boy made his way over to their seats. "Potter!' Sirius recognized him as the captain of the quidditch team. "Potter! I gotta tell you something."

James turned, mouth full of pudding. "Bugah?" He asked.

"That's disgusting. Anyway, this is my seventh year and I've got to choose the next team captain. You'll be competing against Quentin Barnes. If he turns up hexed I swear I'll bench you."

James narrowed his eyes for a second, calculating before ginning. "I'll play fair, Griffin."

"You had better because I don't like Quentin that much but he's a pretty good strategist and if I have to bench you before the end of the season I'm gonna be pissed. You got it?"

"Clear as crystal."

Griffin turned away and marched off, square shouldered and slightly uncoordinated on the ground. "Bit of a wanker but a good captain." James said, running a hand through his hair."

"You want me to hex Barnes?" Sirius asked.

"No, better not. Griffin will be on my ass if he turns up in the hospital wing."

They ate their way through the dinner, laughing and glad to be back when they finally returned to their dormitory, conveniently forgetting to warn a first year about the disappearings step along the way, they fell into bed quite happily.

"OWL year." James said as he took off his shoes and threw them at Peter. "Piece of cake or end of the road?"

"End of the road for you." Sirius said, laughing as Peter's return fire hit James squarely in the chest.

"Actually, I have news." Remus said slyly.

They all looked at him. "Go on!" James ordered.

Remus paused before reaching into his pocket. "I'm a prefect." He said.

They all stared at him in disbelief. "No way!" James said, launching himself across the room to Remus's bed and taking the little badge from him. "No bloody way!"

"I didn't tell you on the train because I didn't want to hear about it the whole way."

"I don't believe this! I don't want to believe this!" James said, bringing the badge over to where Sirius and Peter were standing dumbfound. "Look! It's real! Remus is a bloody traitor!"

Remus laughed. "I didn't ask to be one."

"Well you sure didn't send it back to Dumbledore! Write him a letter, tell him you wouldn't be caught dead wearing it. Better than that go to his office and throw it on his desk!"

"Actually I'm kind of flattered."

James gripped the front of Sirius's robes dramatically. "Sirius he's flattered! flattered!"

"I know mate! We tried so hard with him! I thought he would turn out alright!"

Remus did not look impressed with their antics and sat back with folded arms. "Are you done yet?"

James broke into the chorus of the Beatles song She's Leaving Home and Sirius joined in pretending to weep.

"I'll give you detention if you don't stop." Remus said with a grin, chucking his pillow at them. James caught it and pretend to weep into it.

"Give it back!" Remus cried, leaping off of his bed and chasing them. They laughed loudly and it wasn't until one of the other boys in the dorm made a complaint that they finally settled down.

It would be a new year and Sirius was happy to be back. They would make this one great because it didn't matter how much bad was in the world he was at school with his three best friends and everything was right where it counted.

**Author's Note:**

> Meh, like i said, this chapter is pretty weak but the rest is better. Thank you for reading!


End file.
